Magitalia
by Twilight Joltik
Summary: Feliciano is told by a "Flying Mint Bunny" that he is a magical hero that represents the country Italy. He's unsure what to make of it, but his normal life becomes turned on its head once his friends discover their own powers and everyone he meets seems to have a secret. Not to mention other Countries are out for his head and looking for someone they call the HRE. Magical Girl AU.
1. Prologue- Red Water

**_AN- The other day, the image of Italy transforming into a Magical Girl-type warrior popped into my head, and I haven't been able to get it out ever since. I'm sure someone's done something like this before, but I think it sounds like a fun thing to write, so I turned it into a story._**

 _ **Just some notes about this story. It may sound cute, but I'm rather terrible at writing anything happy. So brace yourself for "fun". And by fun, I mean suffering. Also, there are like, five or six truly "main" characters, and a multitude of less main ones. Some of them should be painfully obvious, but others will seem to be almost randomly chosen. I assure you there's a method to the madness, but don't be shocked if someone you didn't expect to see takes a major role. Also, there are pairings, but that's expected. This is Hetalia, after all.**_

 ** _Also, I'd like to mention I consulted another Hetalia fan I know on a few of the major plot points, just so I could get a test reaction to them. And a few of my reviewers, specifically briana-schmidt1 (gave me a few tips) and Amethystfairy1 (gave me a suggestion that helped with a subplot down the line) have helped me out a bit as well._** ** _I do not own anything but my own ideas, thank you, and enjoy. -Twilight Joltik_**

* * *

 _Magitalia_

 _Prologue- Red Water_

...Something was wrong, wasn't it?

This odd place he was lying down in, the one filled with red water and hardly any light at all, he wasn't supposed to be here, right?

Italy wasn't even sure how long he'd been there, or how he'd gotten there in the first place. He wasn't scared, though. Germany and Japan were with him, so everything would be fine.

He glanced to his left. His friend's black hair still fluttered oddly in the water, seemingly not wet from all the time they'd been lying in the pool of red. Japan's eyes were closed, as if he were sleeping, but he somewhat doubted that was the case. His eyes could easily be playing tricks on him, but it looked like he could see the water through Japan's body.

To his right was Germany, who was staring up at the blackness above them. Other than the occasional blink, he didn't think he'd seen the blond close his eyes at all in all the time they'd been there.

Italy stared up at the sky again. There were no stars, no moon, no sun; no light at all, really. The water was the only thing that glowed, and that light seemed less bright than it once was.

Glancing over again, he found he could no longer see Japan. Whether the blackness had swallowed him or he'd simply vanished, he couldn't tell. Somehow, he knew he shouldn't be scared, but he felt something burning at his eyes.

As he stared at the empty void where his friend once laid, he felt someone grab his hand.

"Everything will be fine," a hoarse voice he only barely recognized as Germany's assured him. "We'll meet again. You know that, right?"

"R-right...", choked out his own voice, faint and raspy from such a long period of disuse. He knew he should know what that meant, he found himself struggling to remember it. His head was starting to feel light, like he was falling asleep.

A small sigh came from beside him. "I'll- we'll do better next time, I promise. We won't mess up, we'll save everyone."

He couldn't find the words to say anything. He didn't even know what he was saying anymore. Even turning his head to face the one saying them felt to be too much, and the blond man lying next to him barely looked familiar.

Still, that man's cold blue eyes met his own, and he faintly whispered "We'll meet again soon, I promise," voice tinged with fear.

He looked at his hand, still clasped tightly in that man's. It was faint; he could see the red pool beneath them more clearly than he could the outline of his own flesh. He was fading too, it seemed, but he was far too sleepy to worry about it.

His eyelids fluttered shut, and before he drifted off, he was sure he heard a voice saying something to him, but it was too far away to make out what it was.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Feliciano's eyes shot open. His room was still pitch-black, and glancing over at his alarm clock, he could clearly see it was four-something in the morning. Still plenty of time to sleep, it seemed.

Closing his eyes once more, he tried to remember that dream he'd been having. Something about water… And Ludwig and Kiku were there too, right?

Sleep was pulling him back in, and he couldn't remember the details for the life of him. Just some dream. They were always weird, and he'd forgotten a million of them before, so he didn't really try to think on it any more.

* * *

 _ **AN- The prologue is short, I know, and all will be explained in due time. I'm going to have to get used to typing Feliciano instead of Italy, though, as is the case with Kiku and Ludwig. They just don't sound quite right to me, and I've had to make a cheat sheet to remember all the human names. So, thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **...Also, thanks to briana-schmidt1 for suggesting the name Magitalia. I quite like it, given that it is a combination of words just like Hetalia. It's Magia, the Italian word for magic, plus Italia. This is important, as any who have seen Madoka Magica will understand.**_


	2. Silver Cross

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter One- Silver Cross_

An alarm screamed. A bright light screamed. Everything screamed very loudly, but Feliciano just wanted to groan and beg for another five minutes in bed.

However, he knew the only way to make the screaming go away was to put in the effort to roll over to the other side of the bed and turn the alarm off himself. He did so after much internal struggle, and found by the time he'd mustered the energy required for that sort of task, he was too awake to even bother trying to recapture whatever dream he'd been having. What had it been about, anyways? He felt like it had been a weird one, but he couldn't remember a single detail of it.

He shrugged it off as he sat up. It would probably come back to him, and if it didn't, the most he could lose out on was an idea for a painting or something. With a stifled yawn, he pushed himself to his feet and started to get ready.

Or at least he did his version of "starting to get ready", which entailed picking up the sketchpad he'd haphazardly thrown off his bed the previous night, cringing a bit at what he'd drawn while half-asleep, and setting it nicely on his desk.

In his half-asleep mind, he registered that the cross necklace his Grandpa had given him before he died was sitting on the edge of his desk, and he took it in his hand. The silver cross was as bright as ever, despite him having worn it every day for two years now. Putting it on, the slight weight around his neck was as comforting as ever, like a hug from his Grandpa's ghost.

With that in mind, his eyelids seemed a little less heavy and he started preparing for the day.

As Feliciano rushed between putting breakfast on, shoving food in a paper sack for lunch, and putting clothes on, he attempted, as always, to not wake his brother.

A loud shout of "Shut up!" coming from Lovino's bedroom told him that, as always, he'd failed miserably.

"Sorry!", he shouted back, and was met with various muffled profanities. He felt a little bad for this, of course, and especially so given that his brother always had to work late, but he still sort of felt all the yelling was a tad excessive.

Still, he managed to eat breakfast, get dressed, and get out the door all in time by some miracle that repeated itself each weekday. He tried to say goodbye to his brother before he left for school, but knew he'd be met with either snores or yelling, so he held his tongue and wordlessly exited the house and started his walk to school.

Not much happened at school. Teachers talked, Feliciano tried to listen, and he learned nothing. There was lunch too, and that was okay, but Kiku was wrapped up in some manga and Ludwig didn't really say much, and he'd been in too much of a hurry that morning to pack anything he really cared about to eat, so even that wasn't all that fun.

And then, art class happened, and he was reunited with his precious pastels and permitted to work once more on that portrait he'd been working on while sitting next to Kiku. If lunch wasn't a thing, or if Ludwig was in the class, he'd probably say without hesitation that it was the best part of his day.

That day, however, he felt strangely off during the class. The familiar person he'd drawn a thousand times suddenly looked strange, and something about it felt strangely nostalgic. Not like it didn't usually do that, given the person he drew he had only seen once several years ago, but it was different this time. He still couldn't remember what he dreamt last night, and something about the masked man he was drawing made him feel like he really ought to.

"...Are you alright?" Kiku said this softly, but it was enough to snap Feliciano out of his daze.

"Oh, no, I'm fine," he quickly reassured his friend. "Just trying to remember something, that's all! Like, I think I had this weird dream last night and I can't remember it at all?"

Kiku gave him a sideways glance before resuming his own drawing. "Yes, that is quite fascinating," he remarked as he traced the outline of a girl with weird swirly pigtails and a gun on his paper with a black pen.

"Yeah, and I think that hero guy that saved me when I was little was in it maybe, but I really can't remember and-" Something suddenly came back to him- a faint sense that the person he was talking to might have had something to do with it. "Wait, actually, I think it was about you, maybe? And I think you died."

It took Kiku a moment to react, but once he did, it was simply a quiet "Yes, that is quite interesting."

Feliciano would have said more, but then he realized he was using a darker grey than he should have been and quickly had to grab different pastels and a paper towel to try to fix the error. By the time he'd mostly covered up his mistake, he'd forgotten about the whole issue.

Too soon, the bell rang to end art class, and he had to scramble to clean up the mess he'd made with his supplies as to not be late to his next class.

Said next class just happened to be Home Ec: his other favorite. Yes, it was the last class of the day, but it was also the only one he had with Ludwig where the teacher hadn't forced them to sit on opposite sides of the room.

And also, on most days, as soon as he entered the room, Ludwig sighed and dug a small vial of hand sanitizer out of his bag, as well as a tissue. As Feliciano took his seat beside him, his friend squirted a bit of the sanitizer on the tissue and wiped it across his cheek and nose.

"Could you try not to get that stuff all over your face?", Ludwig requested in a low voice as the teacher began giving them instructions for something.

"Sorry; pastels are just like that," he replied loudly enough for their teacher to glare at him while she gave the instructions for whatever it was they were to be doing, making him question once again why Ms. Hedervary hadn't moved one of them across the room by now. As she continued on, he started doodling on the paper she'd probably passed out before he'd gotten there and sort of lost the gist of what she was saying.

Ludwig ended up having to drag him out of his seat and over to the kitchen stations a good minute after everyone else had gone. "We're supposed to make brownies," his friend provided. That was a bit obvious, given the bag of brownie mix and eggs sitting on the counter.

"Ah, okay," Feliciano said. "So, we follow the recipe on the box?"

"I would assume so. Read it out and I'll measure everything."

He gave a little salute to his friend and exclaimed "Yes sir!" He picked up the empty box and glanced at it, his heart falling the second he saw "do not eat the batter" plastered across the top of the recipe on the back. "We need a fourth cup water, a fourth cup oil, and an egg."

"Is that all? Does it specify a water temperature?"

"No, just says water."

"And what do I preheat the oven to?"

Feliciano scanned the box. "Ah, 325, I think."

Some clanking noises came from behind him and by the time he'd turned around, Ludwig had begun pouring the oil into a black measuring cup, standing over the sink and coming precariously close to over-filling the cup. After it was satisfactorily measured and dumped into the bowl where the brownie mix had been emptied, he added the same amount of water.

"Alright," Ludwig prompted. "Now, what next?"

"Add the egg, mix, and spread in the pan."

A huff of annoyance came from his friend as he carefully broke the egg on the corner of the counter. "Really? That's all? I could do that blindfolded!"

"Yeah! You made that cake blindfolded that one time, and it turned out pretty good!"

Ludwig gave a weird laugh and turned back around to stir the mix. "Well, I wasn't about to let Gilbert win that one. How long do we put it in for?"

"Forty five minutes."

"Really?" Ludwig looked up at the clock in the front of the room and shook his head. "We don't have enough time before the end of class for that."

Ms. Hedervary seemed to have heard that, as she quickly walked over to them and huffed as she said "I'll get them out when they're ready, and you're meant to set a timer so I know when that is. I said that earlier, as you would know if you hadn't been so busy chatting."

"Ah, right, sorry," Feliciano quickly apologized.

Their teacher giggled and glanced at the clock. "Oh, it's fine," she casually stated. "You aren't even the worst offenders, and at least you two are-"

She suddenly stopped herself. "Are what?", Ludwig prompted, but she simply backed away, muttering something about grading papers.

"She seems a bit… off at times, doesn't she?", sighed Ludwig, saying off like it was a code he should understand.

He didn't really get what it was his friend was trying to imply. "Uh, not… really-?"

"I suppose it's nothing," said Ludwig. Silence followed, and Feliciano gazed out the window. There was a telephone pole right outside, with a handful of birds resting on it. He'd always wondered how they were able to stand on it without getting fried like kindergarten teachers said you would and-

A throat-clearing noise beside him snapped him out of his musing and turned his attention to his friend. "Anyways, I'd been meaning to ask you, how did that painting thing you were doing turn out?

Feliciano smiled broadly at that mention. Ludwig hardly ever asked him about his paintings, and he liked being able to talk about his favorite thing with his favorite person when he could. "Well, I thought it was kind of crap, but I ran out of time and also out of yellow, and I know that I seriously messed up on the background and the shading was sort of off, but the guy who commissioned it seemed to like it okay."

It took a minute to get any response out of him, but eventually, Ludwig said "That's… nice." and nothing more for a very long while.

Looking out the window, Feliciano tried to remember what he'd been thinking about a second ago, but the thought was gone. So, his mind wandered elsewhere, and eventually, he remembered a recipe he'd been trying to find the previous night. It was some stew he'd had years ago, and he was pretty sure Francis had been the one to make it, but he couldn't for the life of him get its taste out of his head. He'd tried to call Francis about it last night, but-

He suddenly remembered something he'd wanted to ask Ludwig. "Oh, can you ask your brother if he's heard from Francis lately?", he requested, and his friend's steely blue eyes snapped from the clock and back to him. "I wanted to call him last night, but it went straight to voicemail and I was gonna ask Lovino to ask Antonio about it but he never answers his phone at work and-"

"No, he hasn't," Ludwig replied, cutting him off. He was just talking about how the b-"

Whatever he was about to say, he cut it off as Ms. Hedervary walked by them, towards a pair of girls with egg and brownie mix all over themselves.

"-Er, the 'airhead'," he quickly amended the statement. "Had dropped off the face of the earth."

A little tug of worry pulled at Feliciano's mind, but he tried to wave it away. "Ah, that's too bad. He sort of does that, right?"

It took too long for Ludwig to reply with "...Right".

This subject needed to be changed, so Feliciano quickly did so. "Hey, after school, you wanna-"

"Sorry; working."

His friend answered his question of if they could do something together before he could even ask it, and he didn't particularly like the answer. "...Oh, right. It's fine, I can-"

"He's working at the animal shelter today, remember?"

Kiku always seemed to be at the animal shelter whenever he wanted to hang out, it seemed. Sometimes, he half wondered if he was starting to like that Heracles guy he worked with there more than him and Ludwig. "Oh, yeah. It's fine, I wanted to finish a watercolor anyways. What about-"

Ludwig gave a small smile and a nod. "To my knowledge, tomorrow will be fine. For Kiku as well."

He said something else, but the movement of something outside caught his attention. It didn't look like a bird, or at least like any bird he'd ever seen. It was green and looked almost like a flying stuffed rabbit of some sort from where he stood. It almost seemed to be looking behind it as it flew, like it was looking out for something. There was an odd shimmer in the air as it flew, sort of like how the ground gets all shiny on really hot days, but-

"Feliciano? FELICIANO!" A shout from beside him made him lose his concentration, and by the time he looked back, the weird creature was gone.

"Ah, did you see that just now?", he questioned.

An odd look came from his friend. "See what?"

"That weird flying thing out the window!", he explained, and Ludwig looked out the window for a moment, but then shook his head.

"...Eh, no. No I did not," he reported. "It was probably just a bird or something, nothing to worry about."

Confusion settled in. "Never mind, then," he muttered. Had he been imagining things? Or had Ludwig just not been looking?

The chimes of holy salvation stopped him from overthinking things, as they heralded the end of the day. "Ciao, Ludwig!", Feliciano called as he picked up his schoolbag and dashed out the room. Maybe if he hurried, he thought, he could see the weird flying thing outside.

So he dashed down the halls and out the entrance and over in the direction he'd seen the thing flying. Looking up, he tried to spot it again, but he only saw clouds. His thinking that he had just imagined the whole thing began to come back, and he came very close to just turning around and going home, but he then felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

He whirled around to see a blond man wearing a long green coat. "Excuse me, and this might sound odd, but have you seen anything… strange around here?"

"Yeah!", Feliciano exclaimed, and a smile spread across his face. He wasn't crazy, then! "I saw this green flying bunny a minute ago, but I can't find it now. Do you know what that thing was?"

The man smiled as well, but it was an unnerving smile- the kind that made you feel like this guy hadn't smiled in ages. "Very interesting," he muttered to himself, and his eyes, which were nearly the same color as that rabbit, scanned Feliciano very thoroughly before settling right below his face. "That necklace," he remarked. "Where did you get that?"

Normally, that question would sound like a compliment, but from this guy, it sounded more like a threat. "N-no, my grandpa gave it to me!", he exclaimed. "Please don't-"

"Your grandpa, you say?", the man mused. "Very promising. Would you mind perhaps coming with me for a moment?"

A hand fastened around Feliciano's wrist, and held very tight despite his struggles. This guy sounded like the type to offer kids candy in a white van, and he really wanted to get as far from this guy as possible. "No! Please, leave me alone!", Feliciano cried.

"Shame you had to struggle," the man remarked, and the same sort of haze he'd seen around the rabbit shone around him. "If you are who I think you are, then your powers could be very useful to us, and I hate to start off with you injured."

And then a gun appeared out a thin air. Several guns, actually. and they were all floating off the ground. And pointed at him.

Feliciano's heart beat wildly. Who was this guy, what on earth did he mean "his powers", and how was he conjuring guns? The attacker assumed a smug grin and stated "My apologies, Italy." As energy charges seemed to form at the mouth of each gun, he clasped his hands together in prayer.

"Grandpa, brother, Ludwig, someone, help me!", he cried. The look on his assailant's face turned from smug to shocked in an instant, and a bright light began to envelop Feliciano.

* * *

 _ **AN- Remind me to never do that again. Write such a long chapter about everyday life, I mean. See, this is why I always write such fantastical AUs; realistic stuff is boring. Well, at least I was able to foreshadow what is to come and set up the main characters in their normal life a bit before I go all Sailor Moon with this. Like, most everyone and everything mentioned in this chapter will be important later. Except that part about Germany making a cake blindfolded as a bet with Prussia. That was what we call a "Noodle Incident". Also, Hungary is a teacher. And that's terrifying.**_

 _ **So, a quick question for anyone with ideas: I'm a bit undecided about what powers to give Germany in this. (I don't think it's a spoiler that he has powers. I mean, it's kind of obvious, given he's listed as a main character.) I was thinking fire powers, but I decided those would be better for someone else, and the best idea I have right now is basically a combination of Kyouko's and Sayaka's powers from Madoka Magica. Because the spear can be Herr Stick, and that's funny or something. Also, because Madoka has heavy German influence, and that's also funny or something. I still don't think that's really good enough, though, so if anyone has any better ideas, I'd love to hear them.**_

 _ **So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	3. White Light

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Two- White Light_

The bright light that was eating Feliciano up, he was certain he'd seen it once before.

Years and years ago, when he was maybe six, someone had tried to attack him. It was late, nearly sunset, and Lovino had run on ahead while they were heading home from something or other. He was sure he'd begged his brother not to leave him alone in the darkening shadows, but his plea hadn't been heard or acknowledged.

He'd been able to see his brother ahead of him for a while, but then lost sight of him very 'd felt like the long shadows cast by the orange sky were going to eat him.

A cold wind had blown past him that night, and a laugh that sounded like it belonged to a young girl pierced the air. He'd turned around, thinking maybe it was someone nice, and saw a lady in a frilly blue dress standing behind him. She would have been very pretty if not for the knives she held.

Though he'd screamed for help, his brother didn't seem to hear him. The girl kept getting closer, giggling every few seconds, and somehow, Feliciano couldn't run. His legs wouldn't quite work, it seemed.

She got closer, and he remembered clearly the tears pouring down her face. Her giggle- or was it a sob?- continued to drip out, and the faint orange sun glinted off her knives.

And then, a bright white light, precisely like the one that enveloped him now, shone somewhere to their side. As it faded, he could see another figure, one he remembered perfectly. A man wearing a long black cloak and a black hat that sort of looked like a pirate's, but not quite. He also wore a white mask, making him look like some sort of superhero or something.

Despite not saying a word, Feliciano was certain that hero was there for him, as while he rushed towards the girl with the knives, he most certain grinned at him. Standing in front of him, the hero seemed to raise his hand and it seemed little shiny bits rushed from him and straight towards that girl.

The girl let out a scream, and Feliciano couldn't really remember much after that. He knew he'd told his Grandpa and Lovino about it, but they'd passed it off as some dream. Ludwig and Gilbert never seemed to believe it either, and Kiku was thoroughly convinced he'd made the entire thing up when he was little and he'd become so obsessed with it that he'd convinced himself it had really happened. Maybe it didn't help that he frequently used the hero that saved him that night as the subject of portraits, but he'd never for a second thought it had been a dream.

He was infinitely more sure of that now, as something about the way the light glowed reminded him strongly of that night. The man who was attacking him reminded him a rather lot of that girl with the knives as well, but other than the fact that they were both crazy lunatics attacking him with weird weapons in the middle of town, he wasn't so sure why.

Maybe the light that was burning around him now had something to do with that incident, and maybe it didn't, but it truly felt like it was burning him. Every part of him felt like pins had been stuck into them, and despite wanting to scream, he couldn't find the voice.

Those pins bore into him for an eternity, or maybe just a second, but when they and the light ebbed away, he didn't feel quite right. The ground felt uneven beneath his feet, or maybe just a little further away, and he felt like he was going to fall over. He tried to reach for something to steady himself, but only found another burst of light filled the air when he reached for it.

That light didn't burn him, but it did produce a flag. Okay, maybe flag wasn't quite the right word; it was more like a metal baton with a white cloth fastened to it. Basically a flag, but it felt less like a thing you wave and more like a thing you hit things with. Not like that'd help much against all those guns or anything, but at least it seemed to have distracted his attacker a bit.

His attacker seemed to get over his shock or whatever and simply started chuckling. "A white flag? That's truly the best weapon you can summon?"

"I- what?" Feliciano realized it suddenly: he'd somehow summoned that flag thing. And that light, for that matter. He had some sort of power to do this, clearly, and this meant that the man who had several guns pointed at his head wasn't going after him by some sort of fluke. That man was right about him, and that sent cold shivers down his spine.

"At very least, this means that this won't take long," the man muttered, and a sudden shot came from one of the guns circling him.

On instinct or reflex or whatever, Feliciano swung the flag as he realized the gun was firing. Some sort of shot came out of it as he did so, judging by the loud boom that pierced the air. Or maybe that was just whatever was coming out of that gun hitting the flagpole? Either way, nothing seemed to have hit him, so that was good.

"Please don't struggle, I really don't want to overdo it now," his attacker requested. Feliciano responded by waving the flag thing as wildly as he could. He was sure it was actually sending out shots now, since little bursts of light or energy or whatever seemed to be shooting all over the place.

His flag hit metal after a moment, and one of the guns was sent flying away and exploded into energy. Another of them fired at him, but Feliciano struck that one away as well.

"Would you stop doing that?" His attacker seemed annoyed more than anything, but also gave an odd sort of cough as he glared. "I told you, I don't want to turn this into a fight!"

"Leave me alone!", Feliciano cried back. He stuck down another gun, the hard clank of metal-on-metal feeling like some sort of reassurance. He'd be fine, everything was fine, he wouldn't get shot up or kidnapped or anything.

Maybe if he told himself this enough while the shots barely missed his head he'd make it true.

Metal hit metal, a few stray shots hit that man, and soon, it felt almost like he was winning. Another gun vanished, another of his shots landed, and the man staggered over to him like he was barely standing. He produced another gun, a shotgun it seemed, and held it himself rather than adding it to the two remaining in the circle.

"I never realized you'd put up such a fight," the man said weakly. As he prepared to shoot, Feliciano simply struck the man with the flag.

With a weak cry, the man stumbled back, the remaining guns shattering into light. He was confused as to why that'd worked, given he'd pretty much just knocked the gun out of his hands, and hadn't even swung particularly hard, but Feliciano wasn't about to complain.

His oddly injured attacker was enveloped by a bright light, not unlike the one he'd transformed in. "Sorry. Next time, I won't be so reckless," said the man, but the way he looked up as he said it made Feliciano think the message wasn't directed at him. The man quickly faded into that light, and was gone by the time it had faded.

For a moment, he just stood there, a bit uncertain of what had actually happened. Was this a dream? Was he about to wake up? Or was he really going crazy? Either way, he felt like he'd just been hit in the face with a steamroller or something, and also sort of like he'd just stopped crying after a good fifteen minutes of doing so. Drained, that was the best word to describe it.

"Wow! That was really cool!"

A voice came from behind him, and Feliciano jumped. Had someone seen all that? Or was someone else coming to attack him?

However, as he turned around to face the voice, he found not a person, but the green rabbit thing he'd seen earlier.

"Er, sorry, let me introduce myself," it said in a voice that didn't really sound like it should be coming from a green rabbit thing. Probably not the weirdest thing he'd seen that day, at least. "Call me 'Flying Mint Bunny'! At least, that's what people seem to be calling me. It's not really my name, but it'll work for now."

* * *

 _ **AN- Sorry it's short, but even with the flashback, there's only so long one can make a fighting scene. Also, I finally thought up a power for Germany. And Flying Mint Bunny, that's a thing. He'll probably explain stuff now. That's what cute animals do in Magical Girl things, right? So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	4. Mint Bunny

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Three- Mint Bunny_

"What is your name, then?", Feliciano asked the rabbit, trying very hard not to question the fact that he was actually talking to a green rabbit fairy thing.

Flying Mint Bunny let out a sort of scoff. "I'm not giving my name to strangers. England told me to not even talk to strangers, and I'm already breaking that rule, but there's no way I'm breaking all of them."

"England?", questioned Feliciano, reminded of how his attacker had referred to him as "Italy". "You mean like the country?"

The rabbit's eyes darted around nervously. "Uh, well, this is gonna be hard to explain," it muttered. "Well, you see, um, where do I start here?"

At very least, he knew where he wanted it to start. "Can you start with that gun guy and why he wanted to hurt me and also why I can do-" Feliciano swing his flag once more, a burst of light shooting from it. "-That?"

Flying Mint Bunny nodded. "Okay, I'll start there. The guy who was attacking you was Switzerland and-"

"Wait, Switzerland?," he interrupted. That wasn't quite like what he'd remembered hearing about the country before. "I thought that place was always neutral and stuff?"

"Well, yes, but he isn't really-" The rabbit cut itself (or maybe himself or herself; Feliciano couldn't really get a read on its gender) off and gave a little frown. "Ah, you see, he was Switzerland, but then-" It stopped again and sighed. "Okay, I really think I should start at the beginning."

And somehow, he grew even more confused at this whole predicament. "Isn't that what you were doing?"

"No, like, REALLY beginning," reiterated the bunny, who cleared its throat before launching into its explanation. "It all started when humans began to congregate into communities thousands of years ago. They grew to be proud of their homelands, and the collective pride of the people manifested itself. Those manifestations, basically the spirits of the countries, they drew power from their people's love for their home and fought for the sake of their people. And by that, I mean they were basically superheroes with cool powers and stuff."

Wait, so that was how civilization came into being? That was way cooler than what he'd learned in middle school about rivers and agriculture and stuff! "Ah, that's really cool!" Vaguely, he wondered why something this cool wasn't common knowledge and sounded so fake, and added "Why have I never heard of this before?"

"It seemed too preposterous to be true," explained Flying Mint Bunny. "People started assuming that they were just myths, and then just sort of forgot the whole thing. The Countries still fought for their people, sure, but they did so in secret."

"Oh, okay," Feliciano replied. He then realized it didn't really answer his question. "So, then why was Switzerland attacking me? And shouldn't he have been speaking like, Swiss or something and not English?"

The rabbit let out a huff. "Well, for one, Swiss isn't a language," it corrected. "Switzerland has four national languages, actually, but that's beside the point. See, long after people stopped believing they existed, maybe thirty years ago, the countries started mysteriously dying off."

"But I haven't heard of any countries dying. I mean, there are like, wars and stuff, but-"

No, it doesn't work like that," Flying Mint Bunny clarified. "The countries' spirits, or whatever you want to call them, can die if they get hurt, even if they pretty much instantly come back. I mean, they aren't exactly human, and they age weirdly, but they aren't literally the countries' spirits. Like, if one dies, that doesn't do anything to the country. Think of them like… patriotism-powered robots!"

"So that guy who attacked me was a robot?", questioned Feliciano. "Wait," he added, quickly realizing who it was Flying Mint Bunny was telling him about. It wasn't his attacker that needed to be explained, but him himself. So, did that mean...

"Am I a robot too?", he questioned, a lump forming in the back of his throat.

A red flush oddly tinted the green cheeks of the rabbit fairy thing. "No, not actual robots," it clarified, and Feliciano let out a relieved sigh. "That was just a metaphor. Um, they're more like… uh, they represent their country but the country doesn't represent them, you know? It's just their jobs, and they probably would die if their country did, and they do things other than that, but they get their powers from it. Does that make sense?"

"Nope!", admitted the thankfully-not-robot cheerfully.

"Yeah, not all that great with explanations," said Flying Mint Bunny with a chuckle. "So, like I was saying, a while back all the country spirits started dying off. And not coming back anymore. No one really could figure it out, and by the time anyone had begun figuring out what was doing it, pretty much everyone was dead already and the ones who were fighting back all died too."

"Did anyone ever figure out what was going on?"

For some reason, Flying Mint Bunny gulped before answering. "S-sort of," it explained. "And by sort of, I mean that no one really knows. But, we do know that the countries' spirits ended up coming back after a while… sort of."

"'Sort of?'", repeated Feliciano. "Is this where Switzerland trying to kill me comes in?"

"Yes, actually," the rabbit said with a nod and odd laugh. "See, it seems that the countries that died were reincarnated."

Reincarnated? That word seemed to explain quite a lot, and also made Feliciano feel cold inside. "Wait, that Switzerland guy called me Italy, so does that mean I'm Italy's reincarnation?", he nervously questioned, half-hoping to be wrong.

Unfortunately, Flying Mint Bunny gave a pleased nod instead of correcting him. "Yes, very good. You caught on quicker than the others did."

"But I've never even been to Italy and I can barely speak any Italian!", exclaimed Feliciano, desperately searching for proof this wasn't the case. He- no, he couldn't be a Country Spirit thing! He was just a fairly useless and completely normal person, but he was happy with who he was. He didn't really want to be someone else. "I mean, yeah Grandma was from Italy, but I never even met her and sure I really like Italian food, but who doesn't?" Flying Mint Bunny looked at him oddly, but he kept going with more evidence that would surely prove this wrong "And I definitely don't remember being Italy, so how does this make any sense?"

"Well, from what I've gathered, most of the reincarnated ones are from America, or at least not from their country," Flying Mint Bunny explained, assuring Feliciano that no, this was not a mistake and he could not prove it to be such. "And really no one seems to have much memory of their past life. So that's how it makes sense."

"Okay…", Feliciano muttered, feeling rather dizzy. He steadied himself on his flag to stop himself from passing out, which he very much felt like he was about to do. "So, back to Switzerland trying to kill me?", he desperately requested, hoping to change the subject so he wouldn't have to accept this all just yet.

Could rabbits be embarrassed? Because Flying Mint Bunny really looked like he was. "Oh, right. See, a lot of the reincarnated ones seemed to be pursued by other reincarnated ones when they realized they were reincarnations. Wow, I just said the word reincarnation a whole bunch, didn't I?"

Feliciano chuckled. "Ehehe, yeah. But how did the reincarnated ones know they were reincarnated?"

Beady black eyes turned to the silver cross on his chest. "That necklace you're wearing, where'd you get it?"

"Funny, that's what Switzerland asked me," remarked Feliciano, recalling it with a shutter and giving much the same answer. "My Grandpa gave it to me not too long before he died."

Flying Mint Bunny gave an affirming nod. "Makes sense. From what I can tell, if a reincarnated country has an item that a loved one gives them, they draw their power from that item."

"Huh?" Those words in that sequence didn't really hit him so much as holding meaning.

"Like, instead of their powers coming from a nation who loves them, their powers come from a person who loves them," clarified the bunny. "Weaker, but it works as a power source since you can't really draw power from a country you aren't devoted to."

But how could he be drawing power from the love of his dearly departed Grandpa? "Even if they're dead?", he questioned.

The sigh Flying Mint Bunny gave at this seemed strangely morose. "Yes, even if they're dead."

For the first time in the past while, Feliciano felt like things were beginning to make sense. "Okay, so I kind of get it now. Basically, I'm the reincarnation of a superhero that fights for a country and my magic powers come from my love for my dead grandpa, and-" He realized something wasn't there that should have been. "Wait, why was Switzerland trying to kill me again?"

"I keep skipping that by accident, don't I?," remarked Flying Mint Bunny. "Um, well, it's 'cause a bunch of the reincarnated countries are teaming up to try to capture all the other reincarnated countries or at least get them on their side and do…" It trailed off and looked around for a second before giving a little rabbit shrug. "Well, I'm not quite sure, but I'm sure they're trying to do something."

"Oh, okay. Wait, if we don't know what they're trying to do, how do you know that the reincarnated countries aren't trying to team up and like, protect the world or something?" A superhero team up didn't really sound like a bad thing, to be honest, even if their methods were questionable.

Flying Mint Bunny looked at the sky for a moment before sighing again "...well, let's just put it this way: if they're good guys, they sure don't act like them."

"Yeah, good guys don't usually try to kill other good guys with guns," Feliciano admitted.

With a bright grin, the rabbit exclaimed "That was really awesome, by the way, how you took Switzerland on like that."

Heat burned at Feliciano's cheeks and he gave a warm smile. "Really? Thanks!"

"I mean, he was all like 'I shall kill you with guns!' and you were all like 'Guns don't kill people, people kill guns!' and then you killed his guns! And that's not a euphemism for anything! I mean, I knew you would be powerful, but like, wow that was awesome!"

Beneath all the praise was a buried phrase that struck Feliciano as powerful. "Why'd you think I'd be powerful?", he questioned.

"Well, you're one of the G8," Flying Mint Bunny said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Of course, this obvious thing just so happened to be something he'd never heard of in his entire life. "G8?"

"They're the eight most powerful nation spirits," explained Flying Mint Bunny, thankfully not looking at him like he was a complete idiot. "Um, they're, er, Italy, England, America, Russia, Germany, Japan, France and- oh, there's another one, I know it, but I don't remember who it was. All of them are really cool, judging by what England can do, and you're no different."

So not only was he a Country Reincarnation thing, but he was one of the strongest? "Wow! This is actually kind of cool, you know?", he remarked with a chuckle.

"Yeah!" Flying Mint Bunny exclaimed with a smile. "Of course, that means that the bad guys will definitely want you on their side, so they'll pull out all the stops to get you there."

Feliciano let out a little noise that sounded something like "Ve~?" as a shudder ran through him. "R-really?"

"Well, yeah," admitted the bunny. "But you seem pretty strong, so I'm sure you can take it. Might want to keep an eye on your friends and loved ones, though," it advised. "You know, just in case they decide to use them as bait."

He was starting to really not like this whole hero thing again. "E-everyone's in danger because of me, then?" Lovino, Ludwig, Gilbert, Kiku; flashes of their bloodstained corpses ran through his head. His eyes filled with tears at the thought. There was nothing in this world he'd less want to see. "Can I not be Italy, maybe? I really don't want anyone to be hurt."

Somehow, in its cute little face and beady little eyes, the green rabbit looked sincerely sorry for his fate. "Sorry, but you're Italy, and even if you hid that necklace, they already know about you, so I'm sure they'd try to get you to transform again somehow," Flying Mint Bunny informed him with the gravity of a final sentence. "Luckily, because of how little power you guys have like this, they won't be able to attack you for more than a few minutes at a time without getting tired. That's why Switzerland ran away: pulling out all his guns like that took too much out of him to keep fighting."

"Well, that's nice, I guess," Feliciano remarked, though it did not make him feel better in the slightest. "How long will it be until they come after me again?"

"You're probably safe for the rest of today, and maybe even tomorrow too," said the rabbit with much more cheer than it had been using. "Just try to stay with people as much as you can, they probably won't try to get you with a lot of witnesses around. Not the kind of thing you want police looking into, you know?"

Feliciano cast a glance over his shoulder. He should have been home by now, and more than anything, he really just wanted to be there. "I- er, thanks for talking to me, Flying Mint Bunny, but I should probably go warn my friends and brother about this," he said, turning around as he did so. He felt the flagpole in his hand burst into light once more, and his steps felt a bit shorter and less pained. "Tell me if you think of anything important, okay?"

Darting in front of him, Flying Mint Bunny regarded him with apprehension. "You're going to tell them?" The way it said it made it sound like an unthinkable thing. "No offence, but I really don't think they'll believe you if you tell them a magical flying rabbit told you that you were a superhero."

When worded that way, it sounded completely ridiculous, and he supposed that something like that would only be met with laughter or concern. "Oh, I guess not," he muttered, but as the green rabbit darted around in front of him, an alternative occurred to him. "You can come with me, then, and explain it to them for me. I mean, they'll have to believe you, right?"

"Ah, well, they wouldn't be able to see me," said Flying Mint Bunny plainly, as if it were obvious.

Though it shimmered with an odd haze, there was nothing that seemed incorporeal about the rabbit. "But you're right there! Why not?"

"I'm a magical creature," it explained, and its condescending nature was starting to get on Feliciano's nerves. "If you aren't magic, you can't see me. That's why Switzerland knew you had powers- 'cause you saw me."

Okay, so the easy option wasn't there, but it didn't matter. He could find some other way to explain, surely. "I-I'll think of a good way to tell them," he affirmed. "So, bye!"

As he waved, Flying Mint Bunny called after him. "I'll tell England I met you! Maybe if you two team up it'll be safer!"

England was supposed to be strong too, right? With someone like that by his side, Feliciano might be able to protect the people he loved. Such a prospect made him smile as he started walking home. "That sounds nice. Ciao, Flying Mint Bunny!"

* * *

 _ **AN- Happy Halloween, people! Instead of candy, you get exposition! Well, delivered by a presumably mint-flavored rabbit, so that counts, right? But Flying Mint Bunny sort of sounds like it's seen some things. Terrible things. And I realize that I might have described Switzerland in the previous chapters in such a way that he sounded like he was England, but in my defense, they have the same hair color, eye color, and basic outfit description. When I actually describe England, I'll be sure to mention eyebrows so you all can be sure who it is, okay?**_

 _ **So, anyone have any ideas for what to call the Magical Girl Countries? I've been calling them Nation Scouts in my notes, but I don't think that could work as a real-type name, so if anyone has any better ideas, please suggest them. Once I think of a name, I'll go back here and add it in this chapter so it'll be like I always had an actual name for them!**_

 _ **So, thanks for reading and have a terrifying night! Unless it's not Halloween anymore when you're reading this, in which case have whatever kind of night you would prefer. -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **...Canada. It forgot Canada. Don't worry, China is important too...**_


	5. Crimson Leaves

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Four- Crimson Leaves_

The air was growing a bitter sting to match the brilliant hues of the leaves. Autumn was all reds and yellows and browns against a backdrop of grey clouds, just like it was every year. Such a lovely sight, and one that had inspired many of Feliciano's paintings and sketches, but that day, it all felt far more breathtaking than usual.

Maple leaves hung above him as he walked the familiar route from his school to his house, and all the crimsons and vermillions shone like fire. A few golden leaves, stained brown in spots like a banana peel fluttered down, spiraling in their descent. These things he'd seen every day for a few weeks now were suddenly a bit arcane, like they were from a world he didn't really belong to, and sort of made him want to cry.

Not like he wasn't crying already, but they made the tears blurring his view of the lovely world around him even more profuse.

A once red, now nearly purple leaf crunched under his foot, turning into dust. Glancing behind him, Feliciano could almost see a bloody red trail in his wake. And a sea of reds and browns and oranges and yellows (mostly browns, though) spread before him. His feet would crush the leaves that were doomed to that fate the moment they fell, and they would scatter into a mosaic of nothingness.

Wow, when did he get all existential?

Well, being told you're some sort of superhero that puts your loved ones in danger just by existing might just do that to you, he supposed. Everything he'd thought he'd known about this world had been turned on its head in the span of… how long? He checked his phone, and found that it had only been about half an hour since school had ended. Ha, that didn't seem like enough time at all, did it?

So, as he wiped the stinging drops of saltwater from his eyes and continued leaving a trail of leafy carnage behind him as he walked, he wondered what exactly he needed to do. He was Italy now, so what does an Italy do on a Tuesday afternoon? Does Italy have to do homework? Does Italy bother his friends at work with gifs of drawings of food with faces? Are there special Italy things he needed to do now?

He supposed Flying Mint Bunny probably would have told him if there was something that needed doing in particular. Also, doing Italy things might attract more bad guys like Switzerland, right? And he really didn't want to do that again. He was already tired enough from the last one, and he wasn't entirely certain if his heart or mind or whatever could take another incident like that.

Wait, Flying Mint Bunny had told him to do something specific: stay near people. And sure, he was walking past houses with people in it, and there were cars driving past him, but he wasn't really with anyone. And where was it he was walking? To his house. Where he would be the only person present until around ten or so when Lovino got home.

The rushing of cars, distant and omnipresent sirens, and vague blasts of music coming from passing vehicles with windows rolled down were all drowned out by the beating of his heart. Alone, vulnerable, totally susceptible to more scary attacks; those would all apply to him for a good evening or so. How lovely.

Was there anywhere else he could go, maybe? Ludwig and Gilbert only lived a few miles away, so he could theoretically call Gilbert to pick him up, but that would only raise questions of why he wanted to stay over while Ludwig wasn't there and things like that.

Maybe he could make up an excuse, he invented wildly. Like, maybe there was a tree in their yard he wanted to paint or something? Wait, no, last time he'd tried to paint something over there he'd gotten some Prussian Blue smeared on the wall, and Ludwig had completely freaked out trying to clean it. No important Italy thing was worth making his friend upset over.

What else could he lie about wanting to do? Did they have any more cable channels he could want to watch? Were Gilbert's birds doing anything cool? Could he lie and say he locked himself out of his house? Ah, no, no, and there was a key under the doormat expressly so he didn't do that again. Oh, come on, there had to be something, right?

After quite a while of desperately trying to think of excuses, he'd realized that he'd pretty much ended up walking up his own driveway without realizing it. It'd taken him so long to think of ways to not be home that he was already home. Funny, sure, but really not terribly helpful.

He checked the time again. It'd be nearly six hours before Lovino got off work, and that really didn't make him feel too good about his survival chances. Flying Mint Bunny had said that he would probably be safe the rest of the day, but how did he know that was true? A rabbit had told him it, and he was about to bank his entire well being and potentially that of everyone he cared about on that?

Fumbling in his pockets for his keys, he tried to think of some way to make sure he was safe. Could he like, barricade the doors or something? But he was fighting magic people! Did magic mean they could teleport? Probably, right? Wasn't that what Switzerland had done?

Blood pounded in his ears. Switzerland and whoever he was working with would need a while to come up with an attack plan, right? Right? There was no need to be worried, he had a little while to work out what he needed to do.

What did he need to do, though? Run like a coward? Tell every single person he'd ever spoken to that they probably ought to be careful? Try to figure out how to use these weird powers he now had? ...Okay, maybe not that last one, as he still felt like he could probably fall right asleep if he wanted to.

Pushing the door to his house open, he stepped in with a sigh. He'd lived in the same house for almost as long as he could remember, but even home seemed unfamiliar now. Or maybe it was just him that seemed weird. That was probably more likely.

He closed the door behind him and took a seat on the couch. It was almost as old as he was and he could still remember how cool he'd thought it was when he was really little. The stain on the arm was his fault, as were most of the stains in the house. When he was little, he'd always knocked things over and completely forgot that he had paint on a brush, or a brush in his hand at all.

It seemed weird that all those little things like that, all the things that defined him couldn't have told him what he apparently really was. A reincarnation, so was he never really his own person? The thought scared him as much as the empty house.

There were a thousand people he wanted to talk to right now. Grandpa had always been able to help him make sense of the world, but he wasn't here anymore and the cemetery where he was buried was far away. Francis had always helped him with difficult things too, and in vain, he dialed his number, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Bonjour," the pre-recorded message said. "It seems I am unavailable at the moment, but I promise you, lovely caller, that I shall call you back tout suite. Ah, please leave a message after the- *beep*"

Feliciano cleared his throat. Might as well, right? "Um, hey, it's me, er Feliciano, I mean," he choked out after a moment. "Okay, this is going to sound real crazy, but, um, things happened and, well, how do I say this…"

A deep breath. He let out everything rapid-fire "Well, see, I got attacked by this crazy dude with guns today and he asked me about my necklace- you know, the one Grandpa Romulus gave me?- and then he pulled a whole bunch of guns out of nowhere! Like actually nowhere! It was a magic thing, I swear!

"And then this crazy light enveloped me and I magically summoned this flag thing that shoots light bullets. It was really cool, and then I beat up the gun guy and he left. But then this rabbit fairy thing called 'Flying Mint Bunny' showed up and told me that it meant I had magic powers because I'm the reincarnation of a superhero that was the country Italy? Like, the actual country! I don't get it either, I know.

"So, apparently I'm magic and that means that more people like Switzerland- er, the gun guy are gonna come after me and maybe after my friends and family? So I don't know what to do or how to feel and I'm sort of scared of being alone because I don't want to get hurt and I don't want anyone else to get hurt but I can't stop being Italy and I don't even really know what it means! So, um, please call me back, okay? Bye!"

He'd sort of forgotten how answering machines worked, because it had probably been several nevers since he'd used one, so he just let it run for a while until he figured it was probably done and clicked it off. And then, he heard a voice that was not his own, and completely freaked out.

He wasn't sure if it was involuntary or not, but the sheer force of adrenaline rushing through him brought him to his feet and summoned that bright light again. It started burning into him, and he felt like it was going to kill him before whoever was there did, but it ebbed away quickly and left him feeling a bit disoriented.

It wasn't an enemy standing before him, though. It was Lovino, who was gaping at him.

"You know, I was about to be worried that you were going crazy or something, but now I just think that I am. How did you change clothes like that?"

"Change… clothes?", Feliciano repeated. He glanced down. Despite having not paid much attention to what he'd put on that morning, he knew it wasn't what he was wearing now. White and blue, like a sailor's uniform, and entirely unlike anything he owned. Was that one of his powers too? "Uh, magic?", he provided. "I thought you were at work today?"

Lovino continued to look at him like he was some sort of ghost, and maybe he was, but it still sort of made him want to cry. "It's Tuesday, idiot," muttered his brother under his breath. "I get those off, remember? So, can you explain all of…"

A gesture was made, indicating basically all of him. "Well, that?"

"I can try," Feliciano offered, sitting back down. With another burst of light, his clothes returned to normal and he let out a yawn. "But I really don't know everything myself."

* * *

 _ **AN- Today's chapter is brought to you by Italy getting way too existential and stuff! But to be fair, who wouldn't be after discovering you are both a superhero and a country? And also I've been reading the Welcome To Night Vale book, which is bookmarked with my cheatsheet of all the human names for countries. See, relevant! I'd considered having Italy call Romano at work to come home and protect him and Romano initially brush him off before Spain forced him to go anyways, but I thought that Tuesday seemed like a reasonable enough day for him to have off and also having him walk in on Italy's message to France was funnier.**_

 _ **So, for the next enemy to show up in the story, I have three different options for you: Ukraine, Lithuania, or Finland. They're all going to show up at some point, but I'd like to have an order. And any ideas for their powers are welcome as well, because to be honest I'm not too familiar with any of them. Which is why they are enemies and not main characters.**_

 _ **And a huge thanks to everyone who's reviewed, followed, and favorited this story so far! I never expected this story to get so much attention so quickly, and nothing makes me happier than seeing that someone new has reviewed my story, expressing their enjoyment of it and asking when Prussia/Romano/China/Whoever will do a thing. And I can assure you, I will answer those questions in time. But for now, thank you all so much for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	6. Pink Chalk

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Five- Pink Chalk_

Lovino took it surprisingly well, all things considered. And by this, of course, Feliciano meant that his brother took it much better than himself. And by that, he meant that instead of crying, his brother stared blankly at the floor for several minutes before shrugging and telling him that he needed to be careful.

"I don't really get this, but you're probably not the type that should get involved in things like this. You cry whenever you stub your toe, and fighting country things with guns doesn't sound like a good idea for someone like that," he'd said, or at least something close to that. "But it doesn't sound like you have a choice, right?"

He'd nodded, and his brother continued. "So, just don't do anything stupid, got it? And if you're afraid that Switzerland's gonna eat you or something, just stay with Beilschmidt until I get home. I'm sure the smell of potatoes will ward off evil or whatever."

They hadn't talked much more about it, even over dinner, which is when they normally talked about everything. Just a quick question over whether or not being Italy meant that they needed to make pasta more (yes, the answer was yes), and that was all.

So, instead of putting the rampant emotions in his head into words, Feliciano put them into a painting. A fluttering white flag punctured with bullet holes, with a spatter of blood. It was the best thing he could think to produce out of it, and it was kind of how he felt. He'd ended up having to turn the fan in his room on full blast and tie an old white t-shirt to the wall to get it to look right, and he knew he'd not perfectly replicated the appearance of his weapon, but the thought of summoning it again made his already heavy eyes droop even lower.

Was it just the magic that was making him tired? He really didn't know, but he hoped it was something else, because if he was that wiped out every time he had to do Italy stuff, he wasn't sure how he was going to function. He already tended to fall asleep in class on occasion anyways, so he couldn't even begin to think how often he'd get in trouble if this kept up.

Either way, he ended up going to sleep a lot earlier than normal, and fell asleep unusually quickly, opening himself to rather odd dreams…

* * *

 _"...where am I?"_

 _Italy looked around. He was in what looked to be a prison cell, from the small amount of light filtering in from a barred window well above his head. It hit plain plastered walls that were covered in chalk marks. Hatch marks congregated in one corner of the wall, changing color on occasion, and various sketches of pretty little purple flowers (heliotropes, maybe? or were they irises?) and bells. He knew they meant something, but he didn't know what._

 _A sound came from beside him. He turned to see a man in a green (or at least that was how it looked in the dim light) jacket drawing on the wall with a piece of chalk. No, he wasn't drawing really, but writing in some sort of code, or maybe with runes._

 _"Where are we?", he repeated his question, directing it at the man this time._

 _He turned around, still holding the chalk. In the sliver of light, he could see the man had very impressive eyebrows and was giving an odd sort of smile. "Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if you could remember?", he replied, sounding more apologetic than anything._

 _What was there to remember? It was important, he knew that, but he couldn't remember it. Tears began to fall from Italy's eyes and he sank to the floor. It too was covered in chalk, but in a pattern resembling a spell circle._

 _There was a piece of chalk in his hand. Italy began to draw on the floor, covering it in the pink of the stick in his hand he could barely discern. He could barely see the symbol he was trying to produce, but it felt like a ladder almost. No, it was a character from another language: 目._

* * *

When Feliciano woke, he remembered the dream he'd been having rather well. Unusually well, in fact. He remembered the face and eyebrows of the man with the chalk, he remembered the flowers on the walls, and he remembered the weird symbol he'd been trying to draw. He quickly scribbled that last one down on a piece of paper on his bedside table. Okay, "piece of paper" was being generous, it was more like an old napkin, but it worked. It'd been something like 目, right? Looked Chinese or Japanese or something. He'd ask Kiku about it, he thought he remembered his friend mentioning knowing a bit of those languages.

He sketched the man as well, while he was at it. With that clear a memory of him, he sort of suspected it might be another Magical Italy Thing, and maybe that man was someone he'd meet in the future. And the flowers, he drew those too. Anything could be important if it was a magical dream thing, right?

Despite trying to go back to sleep after drawing, he just couldn't. Odd, given he'd been completely exhausted last night, but maybe that just meant he'd slept as much as he could? Was that a thing, reaching full sleep capacity? So eventually, he just gave up and decided to do morning things that did not involve going downstairs and waking his brother. Like his homework at the last possible second, and checking his phone, which he realized he hadn't done since he'd attempted to call Francis. Naturally, this meant he'd missed several texts from friends, which he felt kind of bad about but also knew that they probably didn't want to be bothered so early, so he didn't answer them.

Eventually, though, after doing some more work on the painting he'd started last night, he figured it was a reasonable enough time to start doing actual morning things, like going downstairs and making breakfast. He did these things, Lovino yelled at him to do them more quietly, and things almost felt normal.

Well, normal except for the fact that halfway through breakfast he realized he'd slept with his Italy necklace on. Maybe that would explain the weird dreams.

And so, his day began fairly normally. He walked to school, as normal, but feeling a bit weary of any little noise he heard. As normal, he was chastised by his teachers for doing his homework wrong. He tried and failed to pair up with Ludwig in a group project and ended up with Emma as normal, and as normal, he was grateful that she wasn't the type to be bitter about failed relationships, given that if she had, she wouldn't really be doing all the work for the guy she'd dated for two weeks last year. And, as normal, he was incredibly grateful when lunch rolled around.

Before he'd even sat down, though, Ludwig asked/yelled "Where were you last night and why wouldn't you answer your phone?". Feliciano didn't really know how to answer that, given he still wasn't too sure how to tell them about what had happened the previous day, and even less sure how to do that in a room full of people that could probably overhear him if he said something stupid. Therefore, he was glad that Ludwig backpedaled a bit, saying "Excuse me, that was a bit rude. What I meant to say was, er, I attempted to text you last night but received no response, and I don't recall you mentioning being busy, so I was slightly concerned."

"Oh, yeah, sorry!", he quickly apologized. "I just got caught up in a painting thing, and I was talking to Lovi 'bout some things, and, er," Oh God, even Kiku was looking at him by now, and they probably both knew that he was lying. "Um, my phone died?", he invented quickly.

They still looked at him with those eyes that very clearly expressed that they knew he was bluffing. It became a bit hard to make eye contact with either of them, even as Kiku slowly nodded and remarked "Well, check your phone whenever you can. We got some kittens at the shelter last night and I sent you some pictures."

Feliciano checked his phone quickly, flipping through the group chat the three of them had shared for the past year and a half. There were, in fact, some very cute pictures of kittens, and a little noise left the back of his throat to express this. "Aw, cute!", he exclaimed. "What are their names?"

As he asked this, he scrolled down a bit on the conversation, to see Ludwig had asked the same question. "We decided to call them Crona and Annabeth," said both Kiku and Kiku's text from last night. "Well, Heracles wanted to call it Percy at first, but then we figured out it was a girl. Luckily, I chose a gender-neutral name so that didn't happen."

"Aw, cute," Feliciano repeated, still scrolling through the rather lengthy conversation that had transpired without him. He counted two instances of Ludwig complaining about overuse of emoticons, at least, meaning that it wasn't just his fault he got annoyed by them, so that was good, right? Almost counteracted the crippling feeling of loneliness and isolation.

Speaking of crippling isolation, he remembered the 目 symbol he wanted to ask Kiku about and pulled the napkin out of his pocket. "Oh, yeah, I saw this symbol thing somewhere and I don't know what it means, but I thought you might.

Kiku looked at it a minute before shrugging. "It's Kanji, I think, but I've forgotten most of what Yao taught me," he explained. "I'm very sorry I can't be of help here. I'd call him and ask what it means, but he's… busy, and I don't want to bother him, but I'll make sure to mention it next time he calls, alright?"

"That's fine!", Feliciano assured him quickly, before he started apologizing any more, and put the napkin back in his pocket. "It's nothing really, just a little-"

He thought he felt someone tap him on the shoulder, but when he looked up, he didn't see anyone. Or at least, not anyone he could say words about. Instead, he saw Flying Mint Bunny hovering over him, watching him with those sort of creepy black bead eyes. "Hey, I need to talk to you for a second!", it said, somehow unheard by anyone but himself.

Both of his friends looked at him oddly, apparently noticing he was staring at absolutely nothing in shock. So, he laughed awkwardly and said something really believable, like "Oh, I totally forgot, I was supposed to go pick a thing up from a teacher! Er, be right back!"

So he quickly rushed out of the lunchroom, Flying Mint Bunny trailing him wordlessly, and into a storage closet nearby. "Okay, so what is it?", he questioned.

"I talked to England, and he said he wanted to meet you so you two could begin fighting together!", it cheerfully proclaimed. "But he has things to do, so he said he wouldn't be able to meet you until Saturday. Is that good?"

"Y-yeah…", Feliciano muttered. So things would work out with England, and he'd be able to meet him? Saturday was just like, three days away, right? He'd be able to survive until then, right? "Will I be alright until then?"

In the dim closet light, he could make out a shrug from the rabbit. "Probably. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

He quickly pulled out the paper in his pocket. "Well, I had a weird dream last night, does that count? There was this guy, and he was drawing on the wall in this prison place? I remembered a few of the drawings and what the guy looked like, so I drew them in case it was important."

Flying Mint Bunny seemed to lean on the door a bit to open it further to see the drawings as it yanked the napkin from his hand. It then gasped a little. "That's Arth- I mean England!", it exclaimed a bit too loudly for a secret meeting, and he was about to ask it to be a bit quieter until he remembered that he was the only one able to hear it. "I mean, that's like, exactly what he looks like. You got the eyebrows and everything! Wow, you're good at this art thing."

"Thanks," Feliciano whispered. "So, what does it mean, then? That I was able to dream about some guy I'd never met before?"

"I've heard a few others mention weird dreams, but nothing like this," Flying Mint Bunny mused. "Then again, they probably aren't as good artists as you, so that might be part of it. Those other symbols, I think that thing's Chinese? And I don't recognize the flower things."

He was handed back the paper, and Flying Mint Bunny exited the closet. "Anyways, I've gotta go patrol. I'll let you know if I see anyone that could be a threat," it said, and then flew off.

Feliciano headed back into a very awkward lunch conversation and proceeded to try to avoid the subject of what had happened the rest of the day.

* * *

 ** _AN- I'm sorry. Not for anything in this chapter, but for something later. Much later. I'll tell you when we get there, okay? And unrelated-ly, sorry this part is all so slice-of-life. It won't last long. Also, precognitive dreams! Fun! And Emma is Belgium, by the way. She's not important, I just figured it was in line with Italy's character to have a few ex-girlfriends mentioned. So put your pitchforks down, please. She isn't important, Italy is bi and not straight in this story, and their relationship is completely unimportant._**

 ** _So, I have an order the enemies mentioned last chapter, which you don't get to know yet, and powers for all but Lithuania. So, any ideas would be great. Also, I'm thinking of writing a Doctor Who/Hetalia crossover, so if anyone thinks that sounds good, there's stuff about it on my profile and you can pester me to actually write it._**

 ** _As always, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	7. Black Pen

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Six- Black Pen_

"Hey, Ludi, ask my future brother-in-law if he wants the awesome me to make him dinner," Gilbert loudly requested. Ludwig kind of wanted to punch him, as he always did whenever he insisted upon calling Feliciano… well, that. It seemed that stupid comment he'd made when he was six would follow him to the grave, or at least to the altar.

"Ask him yourself, he's right there," he replied flippantly, indicating the position of the person in question, which happened to be sitting right exactly next to him, with his head.

Gilbert gave an obnoxious laugh. "Yeah, right. Only you can reach him when he's like that."

By "like that", Ludwig assumed he meant drawing, as Feliciano had taken off the cross necklace he always wore and was sketching it in a notebook, one of the several he kept on himself at all times. As much as he hated to admit it, getting through to Feliciano while he was drawing was rather difficult unless it involved gelato, so he poked the artist next to him a few times with the black pen he'd been copying his work schedule for the next week into his planner with.

Though it took a moment, the brunette did eventually look up. "Yeah?", he questioned, somehow making the word sound as if had two syllables rather than one in a somewhat endearing manner.

"Gilbert wanted to know if you were staying for dinner."

A nod, and a little laugh. "That'd be really great, thanks!"

"We're havin' _Königsberger Klopse_ , that good?", Gilbert questioned, and was met with an enthusiastic nod before Feliciano returned to his drawing. Ludwig flipped back to that day in his planner, and found that actually wasn't what they'd planned on having, meaning his brother changed the plans quickly to accommodate their guest's tastes, as Feliciano had mentioned several times that he quite liked the dish. Honestly, it seemed his brother either liked Feli more than himself, or took that whole "future brother-in-law" thing dead serious. Or, more likely, both were true.

Familiar scents soon filled the room, and Ludwig went back to writing things in his planner, noting how Kiku had chosen to work an unplanned shift at the animal shelter that evening. Yes, as he was occasionally told by dates, Gilbert, or even Kiku, it might be a bit pointless to write down events in a planner that had already occurred, but it was a habit. Despite his brother's best attempts to make him replicate his almost religious insistence upon recording each day's occurrences in a diary, Ludwig had never really taken to the format. If one wanted to remember the past, a narrative seemed like a poor choice to do it in, so instead he wrote events alone with timestamps and in differently colored pens for each person he needed to chart.

Given the types he ran with, it was very fortunate he had this habit, as some days he seriously wondered if Feliciano would remember anything at all without his reminder. His brother was also a bit more concerned with his own "awesomeness" and birds than punctuality, and he wasn't exactly sure whether or not his manager at the convenience store he worked at part-time would remember when his shift ended without constant reminder, or believe him without being explicitly shown it in the planner. In other words, he was about the only person he knew who cared about order in the slightest.

Just as he was switching to Feliciano's green pen to note that he apparently planned to stay at their house every evening for the rest of the week until approximately 10:15, he noted his phone's buzzing and checked it. It was from Kiku, and not within the group text they kept with Feliciano, which was rather rare, but understandable given the subject matter.

 _Kiku: Is Feli still acting weird?_

Before answering, he glanced over at his friend, who was frowning slightly as he drew the necklace.

 _Ludwig: Not really. Won't say anything about lunch still._

He got a reply after a moment.

 _Kiku: Not even to you? Must really be something, then._

"Not even to him", what was that supposed to mean? He sent a message saying this, but his only reply was a winking emoticon, followed by "But really, what do you think's going on?"

 _Ludwig: Maybe something's up at home? Like, his brother's sick or something?_

That was truthfully all he could think of, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew it to be false. If Lovino was ill or something, Feli would probably tell him the second it occurred.

 _Kiku: Nah. Maybe he's just getting sick?_

Ludwig turned to look at the person in question for a minute. He seemed fine, for the most part, save for giving the occasional, contagious yawn. The lighting in that room was always weird, though, especially with the television blaring flashes of random colors, so perhaps he just wasn't seeing right.

Quickly, he placed the back on his hand on Feli's forehead. Didn't seem abnormally warm, but perhaps that was just because he pulled it away quickly due to his friend's giggling and comment of "What, I'm not getting Potato Fever like Lovino says, right?"

"N-no," he muttered under his breath, a bit embarrassed he couldn't think of a better method to check temperature. Still, it gave him a proper response.

 _Ludwig: Doesn't have a fever._

The response that gave was rather juvenile, and sounded like the sort of thing Gilbert might say.

 _Kiku: How'd you check? The lips are the most sensitive part of the body, so I've heard that's the best way to check for a fever._

There was only one answer worthy of that : "Shut up."

It took abnormally long for Kiku to answer, but when he did, it was with a shrugging emoticon, followed by:

 _Kiku: Well, I'm out of ideas, so we should probably just ask him what's up directly._

As good an idea as that might sound, it also happened to sound rather similar to the events that had transpired during lunch after Feliciano had returned without the thing he'd insisted he'd had to go get from a teacher.

 _Ludwig: Didn't we try that?_

 _Kiku: Do you have any better ideas?_

The several minutes that went by without him responding seemed to answer well enough for him.

 _Kiku: Thought so._

* * *

And so, the two of them orchestrated plans to confront Feliciano about all his recent oddness after school the next day. This was probably a good thing, as he ran off suddenly again during lunch, claiming he had some papers he had to pick up, and returned five minutes later without any of said papers. Also, he nearly fell asleep during History, but that happened often enough that it seemed a bit pointless to worry about.

The plan was simple enough: confront him head-on with no one else around, and surely he'd say things. Feliciano was terrible at keeping secrets, after all, so it was sure to not take much to elicit a confession.

However, it seemed that they had underestimated him a bit, as when they enacted this plan, it quickly went off track.

He led him to as far as he could conceivably lie and say Gilbert was to pick them up, with Kiku following from a distance, and then as soon as they were certain no one else was within earshot, asked him what was going on, just as they had planned, but got a much different answer than they were expecting.

"I-I'm totally fine," Feliciano insisted, the stammering and rising pitch of his voice contradicting his words. "Like, really! Nothing's wrong, I just- well, I-I-I don't know, lately I've been sort of feeling like I'm totally useless compared to you two, but that's about it!"

"What on earth would possibly make you think that?", Ludwig questioned, not buying the explanation for a second.

Feliciano looked around for a moment, as if desperately searching for something to further his lie. "Ah, well, I dunno, like, I'm disorganized and can't drive and I just sort of suck in comparison to you two, you know what I mean?"

"That isn't what you mean," Kiku insisted. "Please, we're your friends, and whatever it is, you can tell it to us."

"Uh, well, I've kind of been feeling a little left out lately," Feliciano softly said, and was either miraculously not lying or miraculously lying well this time. "Like, when I forgot to answer the other day you guys just had fun without me."

A laugh came from Ludwig. "That's about how I feel whenever you all are talking art stuff and expect me to know what you mean," he admitted, and despite the annoyed look Kiku gave for continuing the derailing of the point of this conversation, it felt nice to get that off his chest. "And I am very sorry I don't know what a 'Copic Marker' is or if it's good that you get twenty 'reblogs' on the photograph you post, but all that sounds like a foreign language to me."

"I- I'm sorry!", Feliciano quickly apologized. "I didn't realize we were confusing you! I can teach you some stuff if you want, or we can just not bring you into it, whatever works."

Sighing, Kiku butted in. "I apologize as well, but I truly don't understand how you could feel left out. If anything, I am the third wheel, given you two have known each other perhaps three times as long as you have me, and I fear that my friendship could never compare to what you two have and I'll fade from your memory after you two get married and live happily ever after. However, that is besi-"

"I'd never forget you!", Feliciano insisted a bit too loudly. "Neither of us will! When me and Ludwig have kids, you can be their crazy uncle Honda who buys them stuff we won't and is generally their more favorite! And we can leave them with a babysitter or Francis or something and go do fun things, just like always!"

One of Kiku's rare smiles surfaced. "That will be fun. And our children will probably be as close as you two, don't you think?"

"As us two?", Ludwig repeated, and with an awkward laugh, it registered that it almost sounded like Kiku was talking about only two sets of children. "You know, it sort of sounds like you're saying that Feliciano and I are getting married."

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Kiku replied "I thought that was obvious," and Ludwig turned bright red. He didn't really get the opportunity to object, though, as an odd cracking sound pierced the air and drew their attention.

Approaching them was a woman holding a pitchfork, but somehow, this was not the odd thing about her. No, that would be the various long, scarf-looking extensions coming from her, which were most certainly moving on their own. It was a horrific effect, like some sort of monster had assumed the form of an inconspicuous bystander and its true form was beginning to leak out.

Feliciano looked at her not with horror, but with clear annoyance. "Who are you?", he loudly questioned, receiving no answer. He then sighed and clutched the cross around his neck. "Well, whoever you are, I won't let you come after my friends!"

A strangely familiar light enveloped his friend, and as it faded, it revealed a slightly older looking Feliciano holding an enormous white flag. "Now, in the name of Pasta, I shall defeat you!", he declared.

* * *

 _ **AN- Today's POV is Doitsu, because it would get boring if it was always Italy! And also here we have Ukraine. Hi, Ukraine! Her power is basically Mami's ribbon thing from Madoka, because Belarus has a paralyzing power and I thought it would be cute for the sisters to have similar powers. Also, she gave Russia his scarf, so it isn't even that much of a stretch! In other news, I'm adding "Prussian dishes that Italy might like" to my list of strangest things I've had to look up for a story. The** Königsberger Klopse **thing is an Eastern Prussian dish with meatballs, white sauce, and capers, and that sounded like a thing Italy might like that Prussia might make.**_

 _ **So, thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	8. Carmine Drops

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Seven- Carmine Drops_

It seemed to be just Feliciano's luck that the enemy country Flying Mint Bunny had warned him about earlier would show up while he was talking to his friends. So he didn't hesitate in transforming in front of Ludwig and Kiku- that probably would have been how he revealed himself anyways- and prepared to try to make the scarf lady go away so they wouldn't be hurt.

He didn't really think about how he expected his friends to react, but it definitely wasn't the way they did. For one, he didn't really expect Kiku to correct him, pointing out as soon as he'd let out his heroic one-liner "It's supposed to be 'I will punish you', not 'I shall defeat you'."

"Is this really the time for that?", Ludwig questioned, and out of the corner of his eye Feliciano could see he had picked up a large tree branch.

Kiku gave a hasty "If he intends to be a magical girl, he ought to do it correctly" in response.

Another of the enemy's scarves cracked like a whip, and she was definitely moving closer. Really, she looked a lot like the knife girl that had attacked him when he was little, but thankfully wasn't giggling. She was still smiling, though, and that was creepy enough, as she did so warmly and while one of her scarves curled around the pitchfork she was holding and took it from her hand.

That pitchfork was flung across the parking lot and towards Ludwig, so Feliciano quickly sent one of the Light Shot Things to knock said pitchfork off track. Ludwig made a move as if to grab it, but another of the scarves picked it up instead.

"Try hitting her with one of your attacks!", instructed Kiku, and Feliciano was once again more than a little confused. He was taking it better than even Lovino had, even in the middle of a fight. Was that just because this was sort of like the kind of stuff that happened in animes, or was now just not really the time to question things?

The latter was definitely true at the moment, as a pink ribbon ripped through the air towards them and quickly caught Kiku's arm. A small noise of shock came from his friend, and Feliciano swung his flag wildly in the direction of said ribbon, ripping it to shreds before it could do anything.

Another crack announced the moving of another scarf thing, this time towards Ludwig. Without really thinking, Feliciano rushed towards the blond, sending a few light blasts around where the ribbon-scarf thing fluttered for good measure. It only blew a few holes through it, though, and it continued to slither through the air until he felt something brush up against his ankle.

He felt it wrap around his foot, tugging back at him to throw him off balance, so he tried to plant his flag in the ground to keep himself from being pulled away. Another ribbon soared through the air, fluttering right for his arm, and he tried to raise his flag once more, but found a stick had already begun poking at it.

Ludwig bravely tried to ward off the scarf thing with his large tree branch, but it wrapped around said stick instead and threw it to the wayside, the impact shattering it into splinters. His defender let out a huff of annoyance and picked a stone off the ground instead.

As Ludwig threw the stone towards the woman, being swatted away by another scarf, Feliciano found that the pull on the scarf around his ankle had lessened, as if his attacker could only focus on one of her many tendrils at a time. He took this opportunity to send another wave of light blasts at the ribbon ensnaring him, and a few more at the woman.

His attacker, in turn took the pitchfork out of her hand with one of her scarves once again and threw it towards him. It came quicker than he was expecting, and Feliciano didn't have time to get out of the way.

"Feliciano!", Ludwig yelled, but the weapon was already entering his body, as he could tell from the grimace his friend bore as his shout tapered off.

Oddly, he definitely felt an impact, but it didn't really feel like what he thought being impaled would feel like. From the way his friends were looking at him, it must have looked bad, but he really didn't feel much pain from it. Honestly, it hurt more to look down long enough to pry it out than it actually did to take it out, and even then there really wasn't very much blood.

Another ribbon thing coiled around the pitchfork as he pulled it out, and in a burst of inspiration (or fit of madness, really either worked,) Feliciano grabbed the weapon as it was pulled into the air. The scarf began swinging wildly, as if trying to shake him off, and he somehow managed to hang on with one hand while using the other to wave his white flag, sending sprays of light into his assailant.

Around the time Feliciano started getting real dizzy, the scarf suddenly dropped him, and the pavement hit him even harder than the pitchfork. Things were spinning and blurry and his head hurt like crazy, but he could definitely make out that the pink ribbon scarves were disintegrating, and vaguely he heard the woman let out a cry of pain. A burst of light enveloped her, just like the one Switzerland had disappeared into the other day, and she did the same.

The next thing he was aware of was a hand resting on the back of his head, and another grabbing his wrist as if to check his pulse. "I'm fine!', he insisted over the pounding of his head. "Just sort of dizzy."

He turned his hand to grab the one that was checking his pulse to pull himself up. Ludwig's eyes met his own, looking more upset than surprised. "What the hell was that?", he questioned, and Feliciano realized he really didn't know how to answer that.

"Um, well, magic?", he attempted. "Or well, I mean, it was magic and um, she was attacking me and-"

"I noticed that," Ludwig flatly stated. "More precisely, tell me when this started, how you were able to use this 'magic', why she was attacking you, why she left, and how you were able to take being impaled so easily."

Even at times like this when his heart was racing wildly and his head was pounding black, he was so glad he had Ludwig to make things simpler. Just answering a few questions was so much easier than making everything up from scratch again. "Um, it started two days ago after school when this guy with a bunch of magic guns attacked me and I transformed like I did and used that flag thing to beat him. Apparently, I'm the reincarnation of a magical warrior that represents the country Italy or something? Yeah, I don't get it either, but that lady was probably from the same group that Switzerland- er, the guy who attacked me yesterday was working for?

"At least, that's what Flying Mint Bunny said. He knows a lot more about all this than I do, and also he's a flying green rabbit. Weird, right? But I think she just ran out of magic, so she had to retreat, and we should probably be safe for now. Oh, and the pitchfork. Yeah, I don't get that either, but it's probably a magic thing."

After he stopped talking, Ludwig stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Sorry, I don't understand this at all. You're… a country?"

"I understand it just fine," Kiku countered, stepping around and sitting down to better join the conversation. "Essentially, you're like Sailor Moon, except instead of being Moon, you're Italy. So, Sailor Italy. Is that correct?"

Sailor Moon… Feliciano had watched a few of those when he was little, and from what he remembered, it did seem kind of like this, so he nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

The closest thing he could equate Kiku's expression to was that one time he'd seen a super rare figurine while they were out shopping at some random store, and even that didn't quite cut it. Honestly, it was sort of freaking him out. "So you truly are a magical girl…" he muttered, as if entranced by the words. "That's incredible."

"Don't be ridiculous, he's clearly not a girl," Ludwig countered. "But I must admit, it is a bit cool. Excepting the part where you're impaled with pitchforks."

A warm flush came to his case. He'd not really expected his friends to be impressed by all of this. "It- it's really scary though," he said, looking between his friends. If either of them had been hit with that pitchfork, surely it wouldn't have been so painless. The image of carmine drops falling from wounds on either of them would have been enough to break him, and even now it was burning tears into his eyes. "You saw, we could have been really hurt and I'm so sorry I brought you into thi-"

He was cut off by Ludwig quickly enveloping him in a hug. "Don't apologize," he said softly, words as mesmerizing and reassuring as the contact. "From what I can gather, this isn't anything you could control, right?"

Feliciano nodded into Ludwig's shoulder.

"Besides, we're fine, aren't we?"

"I'm scared, though," Feliciano muttered, muffled by shirt. "Next time, what if-?"

Kiku cut him off. "If you were that amazing in your second fight, just think how much better you'll be once you've had a bit more experience?"

"And we'll support you however we can," vowed Ludwig. "Even if we aren't magical… girls… Can we think of something better to call it?"

A pad of paper and pen were produced from Kiku's bag. "Gladly. I'll think of some cool attack names too."

"Attack names?", Ludwig said flatly. "What, to call out like an idiot while in battle? Wouldn't that just tell them what he's doing?"

"We can call those shots he sent from his flag 'Light Bullet', or maybe 'Blessed Shot'," Kiku suggested, unphased.

Smiling, Feliciano pulled Ludwig closer. His warmth and their words made him feel like things really would be okay, and if they believed he could do it, he was sure he could be Sailor Italy just fine.

* * *

 _ **AN- Sailor Italy probably won't stick, but I figured Japan using anime names for things seemed in character enough. As did him fangirling. In other news, I've gotten the first… well, I'm not sure I'd call it half, but act of the story plotted out. Let's just say this: things will not only pick up in excitement from here, but we're also pretty close to some interesting developments, and chapters 19 and 20 (I think) will be very interesting. Also, I figured out a new way to write action scenes that will be helpful, so I won't have to dread them as much.**_

 _ **Shameless self plug! I started a new Hetalia-type story about America and his quest to make his new OTP canon to create a perfect food! It is nowhere near as serious as this, and that's saying something for a story where Magical Girl Italy and Flying Mint Bunny beat up Switzerland! Also, I think I've got a good power for him (thank you Anon), but I still need weapon ideas for Lithuania! Too many exclamation marks! Thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	9. White Sea

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Eight- White Sea_

Cold autumn air gathered around Kiku as he traced familiar steps from the employee parking of the animal shelter to the door. Leaves fell like cherry blossoms, giving the whole thing a terribly shoujo-esque feel. If he was watching this scene play out in black and white panels, he might have thought the protagonist was going to confess their love to their Senpai.

He, unfortunately, wasn't the one living an anime's plot, though. No, that would be Feliciano, or rather Nation Scout Italy. After some careful deliberation, he'd decided that would be the name he gave his friend's kind, the magical warriors who apparently had once fought in the shadows to defend their countries. The plot was so beautifully set, with hesitant hero Feliciano and his noble love interest Ludwig all set to go against the mysterious rogue Magical Girls. Kiku only wished he could have a better part to play than Incidental Friend Side Character, but if it meant he would see something like this unfold in real life, he was more than happy to play the Tomoyo to his friend's Sakura.

And "Tomoyo" had some explaining to do to his co-worker as to why he wouldn't be able to work that day. Doing so in person seemed to be a bit more polite than just calling Heracles up to say why he couldn't come, and countless times less rude. It wasn't as if he could just say that he'd decided to take the day off to discuss Magical Girl things and battle strategies with his friends after all, but he hadn't been able to concentrate the day before with all the thoughts of what he'd seen with the scarf-wielding woman. If he didn't come in, Heracles would be worried and think he was ill, and he didn't want to cause anyone to worry.

As he opened the employee's door, the scents of the place hit him, just like the stale air. Unsurprisingly, Heracles was already there, sitting on the floor and dividing out bowls of cat food. A few of the cats, as always, were wandering around the back room, one (Sorrel, was it?) continually rubbing up against his friend. "Um, excuse me…", he muttered, half feeling like he was interrupting.

Heracles quickly looked up and smiled at him. "Oh, I was worried you wouldn't be coming today," he said very softly, almost drowned out by the clinking of the falling pellets against the ceramic bowls. "Are you feeling better?"

"Y-yes," Kiku quickly assured him. He hadn't counted on his absentmindedness causing worry, and he did hate to lie or worry anyone. "Even still, I- I cannot work today."

A concerned frown spread across his coworker's face as he tried desperately to even out the amount of food in each bowl. (He always did this, as he said he didn't want any cat to feel less loved than another.) "...eh? But you're here."

"Yes. I am. But I can only stay for a minute." Kiku tried to search for a reason that wouldn't be a lie as to why he could not stay, the best he could find being a simple "something came up."

"That's too bad," Heracles remarked, sounding oddly upset by this. "Why did you come all the way out here to tell me that, then? Just wanted to see Crona?", he questioned, gesturing to the small grey tabby that was lapping up a few of the pieces of food that had fallen on the floor.

Kiku bent down and patted the kitten's head. Its warmth and movement felt odd, but also comforting. "...Yes. And telling you I could not come over the phone seemed rude. I truly am sorry."

A smile forced itself onto Heracles. "Don't worry about it…", he muttered, rummaging in his pocket for something, withdrawing a closed fist a moment later and quickly shoving it behind his back. "Oh, but before you go, I wanted to thank you."

Thank him? Whatever did he mean by that? Kiku had only been working there for a few months, and being not even a fraction the help Heracles was. "Oh? What for?"

"Ever since you've started helping me out, things have been so much easier around here," Heracles explained, like it was plainly obvious.

Burning overtook his cheeks. He didn't deserve such praise, given the person congratulating him was a veritable god of animal caretaking. "There is no need to thank me," he quickly insisted. "I haven't helped nearly as much as I ought to, and-"

A slow blink, and then Heracles shook his head. "You've helped plenty. Besides, just having someone- well, someone who can talk back to me keeping me company is enough."

Kiku said nothing. He simply noted that his coworker also turned red when saying this, and that hesitance was extremely cute. Really, Heracles could rival the kittens in cuteness at times, even if he would never dare admit this out loud.

The object folded up in Heracles's fist was shoved at Kiku with a barely audible "Here, I got you something." His hand opened, revealing a golden bell attached to a choker necklace, like what a token cute cat companion might wear in an Anime. "I know it's sort of silly, but I… thought it would look cute... on you…"

Well, he was right about it being silly. Taking it in his hand, Kiku was stricken by how much it looked like something that absolutely no one would wear outside of costume. Still, it was a gift, and one from a dear friend; he couldn't be rude about it. "...It's very-"

"You don't have to wear it," Heracles cut him off, blushing furiously and refusing to look him in the eye. "Sorry, it really is silly."

That had been a rude response, and he felt very bad for it. Holding back a sigh, he placed the black band around his neck, hooked the strap together, and turned it around so the bell was pressing against his throat. "...No, I like it. I like it very much," he insisted, and despite the discomfort the accessory brought, it seemed to make Heracles feel better.

He would have said more, but Kiku's phone went off, repeating the little jingle that signaled a call several times before Kiku stood up and checked it. Feliciano was calling, and his heart dropped just a little. It was very rare that his friend would call him, meaning it was likely some sort of emergency. "I… should go...", he abruptly remarked, turning towards the door. "I can't promise I'll be able to come tomorrow, but I will try my hardest.

"Oh, alright. I'll see you tomorrow, then," a sad voice called back, but Kiku didn't allow himself the time to dwell on it, as he answered Feliciano's call and shoved his phone to his ear as he exited the building and was blinded by the already low-hanging sun.

"Hey, you told me to call you if any Magical Girl things happened, right?", Feliciano's voice answered, sounding rather out of breath. "Uh, well, Magical Girl thing… happened. Some guy's attacking me. With a crossbow. And crossbows really actually hurt and we're right by my house so can you hurry and like, run him over or something?"

A little more than a day ago, such a call would be shocking. Now, though, Kiku was able to respond with a calm "I'm on my way." as he got into his car, hung up the phone and proceeded to drive over to his friend's house.

He saw the battle before he saw Feliciano's house, and he wondered slightly why no one seemed to have called the police about it, given the residential street was littered with marks made by the impact of attacks. It must have been going on for some time before he arrived, as Feliciano looked pretty much completely exhausted as he hit arrows away from himself with swipes of his flag.

Surprisingly, parallel parking while your friend shot light bullets at a tired-looking man in a green military uniform, who was firing arrows from behind a massive shield was not as hard as one might imagine, and he managed to get out of the car fairly quickly to.. help, he supposed. (Really, he would have assumed it was more for moral support if it wasn't for the fact that Ludwig was there and attempting to charge the enemy with a tree branch from behind.)

"Three of you?", the man who was attempting to shoot at Feliciano with one hand and block the tree branch with a shield with the other remarked. "I was told I'd only be pursuing one target, and I really don't want to get civilians involved if I don't have to."

"If you didn't want us to get involved, you shouldn't have attacked him!", Ludwig cried back, doing surprisingly well with such rudimentary weaponry.

This man must have been a country, right? "Who is he?", Kiku questioned aloud, and an answer came from somewhere behind him.

"That's Lithuania!", a voice exclaimed, and looking up, Kiku saw something that could only have been the "Flying Mint Bunny" Feli had attempted to describe to them. Frankly, it looked like a typical Magical Girl mascot character, with a candy color scheme and cute looking wings. It was a little creepier in real life than in illustrations, but he'd still gladly buy a plush of it.

"Flying Mint Bunny!", Feliciano greeted. "Lithuania" looked a bit annoyed and continued to block a rather confused looking Ludwig's attacks. "What's his power, arrows?"

The rabbit shook its head. "No, his power is, well, endurance. You've been fighting him for a while, right? Longer than Switzerland or Ukraine?" Feliciano nodded. "Well, that's because his power is to have his magic last longer than them."

"Well, of course," Lithuania remarked. "Why do you think I was sent when they failed. But regardless, you have no place in this battle."

He sent an arrow towards Flying Mint Bunny, which simply bounced harmlessly off, leaving Kiku wondering how strong the creature really was. Regardless, this seemed to be unforgivable in Feliciano's eyes, as he sent a larger Light Bullet at Lithuania and cried "Don't hurt him!"

"Excuse me, but who are you all talking to?", Ludwig flatly asked. "I presume it's a magic thing, but from here, it just looks like you're just talking to nothing."

Kiku blinked, half expecting the creature to phase out of sight. Feliciano had said that Flying Mint Bunny couldn't be seen by normal humans, right? "I can see him just fine," he remarked. "Why is that?"

Someone gave a strangled gasp, but whether it was the rabbit or Nation Scout Italy, he couldn't tell. "That must mean you have powers like ours!", Flying Mint Bunny exclaimed. "That bell, did someone important give it to you?"

The weight around his throat felt greater, and he remembered he was still wearing the choker Heracles had given him. "I suppose you could say that," he muttered.

"You must be a Country, then! Think really hard, try to use your powers!", Flying Mint Bunny directed.

His… powers? Was that even possible? Closing his eyes, he tried to find something like that within himself. Something like a warm light seemed to spread from his throat, and when he opened his eyes, he only saw a sea of white.

Suddenly, that warm light became burning hot, and he desperately held back a scream. It hurt, it truly hurt, like his whole body was being torn apart, but when it faded, he felt stronger somehow. The world came back into focus, and with a quick glance down, he saw his clothes had been replaced with some sort of white uniform.

"You- you're-?" Feliciano sputtered, looking as horrified as he did amazed.

"He must be Japan!", Flying Mint Bunny exclaimed, and somehow that felt right. Yes, he was Japan's Nation Scout, and he knew this was as true as the sparks of power surging at his fingertips.

Lithuania simply sent a greeting arrow at him. "Lovely, but I can still outlast two of you."

Though in all honesty, he shouldn't have known what to do, somehow, Kiku felt more sure of his actions than he had in his entire life. He wasn't Tomoyo, he was Sailor Mercury: the first to join the hero's side and plenty strong in his own right. Water was pooling in his hands, and with a simple swipe, a blade of it was shot at Lithuania.

Another pulse, and a shot of water was sent at the enemy's feet. He fell back, dropping his crossbow as he did so. More warm light seemed to envelop Kiku's hand, and it quickly closed around the hilt of a katana. Charging Lithuania as he struggled to get up, he didn't think for a minute of anything but running it through the person who had been attacking himself and his friends.

More Light Bullets came from Feliciano, and all at once, they hit Lithuania. He stumbled back, looking unharmed but extremely tired. With a laugh, he muttered "Guess I was too weak as well…" and vanished in a spray of light.

Panting, Kiku felt the power around him fall away, the katana vanishing as well. Both his friends looked at him, but Ludwig was the only one to speak: "So, you're magic too?"

"It would seem so," Kiku said. "Japan, I think."

"So where'd you get that bell?", Feliciano asked. "Flying Mint Bunny said it was your power thing, but I've never seen you wear it before."

He… got his power from the bell. With a horrific shudder, he realized what this meant. "Uh, Heracles gave me it a minute ago. I suppose I'll have to wear it… regularly…"

* * *

 ** _AN- Enter Nation Scout Japan! Yeah, he was bound to find out eventually, and I didn't want to prolong the inevitable. He gets water powers; it seemed appropriate. Also, enter the Giripan, because I can't leave Japan alone as a third wheel without romantic subplots. Also, because the cat bell just seemed like a perfectly mortifying transformation trinket to give him. So, thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	10. Red Light

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Nine- Red Light_

 _Rose petals rippled in the air around Italy. Hazy pangs burned at his head. He barely knew where he was, but knew that it wasn't a place he really wanted to be._

 _Someone rushed ahead of him- a young, blond boy wearing a sailor uniform and carrying a cannon. Another person passed him- a young ponytailed girl carrying an enormous paintbrush that left trails of green ink splattered across the ground as she practically flew through the battlefield. He thought he felt something else brush past him, but didn't see a thing but small ripples through some of the girl's paint splatters._

 _Ahead of them was a man with a long coat and pink scarf. He looked calm, unafraid of the people charging towards him, but he didn't attempt to fight back. The young boy shot a cannonball at him, but he didn't flinch as it approached him. It simply bounced off of him, like it was rubber rather than metal._

 _With a start, Italy realized someone was standing behind him. He quickly turned around to face a familiar figure: a man wearing black robes and a white mask. He held a spear in one hand, and took Italy's hand in his other. The two ran up to the scarf-wearing man, who turned from calm to livid the second he noticed the masked hero._

 _A thousand needles of ice were produced from the scarf-wearing man and charged straight for the two of them, that terrifying fury being kept on them all the while._

* * *

"We're nearly there," a voice told Feliciano, accompanied by a few taps on his shoulder. Quickly, he opened his eyes. He was in Ludwig's car, (they'd been driving to meet up with England, right?) leaning over in the middle of the back seat, and an odd heat, like the one a computer gets when it's on too long was radiating from the metal cross around his neck. Had it caused him to have such a weird dream?

He decided to ask for a second opinion. "Uh, so if you have a really weird dream when you're wearing your transformation cross thingy and it's really hot when you wake up, does that mean magic things?", he questioned.

"Doubtful," Ludwig answered, very clearly more focused on driving than anything he'd said. "Not everything happens because magic. It's more likely you just had a weird dream."

"Actually, Magical Girls have precognitive dreams quite a lot," Kiku corrected. "What was it about? Were you fighting a mysterious enemy?"

The details were hazy, but that sounded sort of right. "I think so... " More came back to him, like the image of a pink scarf like the one the lady had attacked them with a few days ago. "Wait! Yeah, there was this really scary looking guy with a scarf like that lady from the other day, except instead of trying to kill us with pitchforks he had like icicles or something. And that hero guy that saved me when I was little was there and so were some little kids with weird weapons."

A weird sigh came from Kiku. "Well, that could be prophetic, but I'm not really sure. We should ask Flying Mint Bunny. It would probably know."

"How did I get to a point in my life where my friends consult an invisible rabbit for advice?", Ludwig questioned under his breath.

"Good question!", Feliciano said. When put like that, yeah, it sounded completely insane. And maybe it was, but whatever. They were nearly to where England had told them (okay, told Flying Mint Bunny to tell them) to meet him, and probably everything would be fine once there were three of them fighting together.

Three… of them… Right. Kiku was part of this now too. Was that awesome? Maybe, but it also meant that he really didn't have much way to keep his friend safe, or any good way to dissuade Ludwig from coming with them. Still, it meant he wouldn't be defenceless if some country attacked while he wasn't there… even if it also meant countries would attack him period.

Well, at least Ludwig didn't have powers, right? Wait, did he? Was that even possible? If two of them were countries, did that make it more or less likely that all three would be? Would it be better if he did have powers? He was going to be involved regardless, so would it be better if he had powers of some sort?

So many questions, but all of them cut off by Ludwig saying "I think this is the place" and pulling into the parking lot of a beat up old diner that looked very undercrowded for noon on a Saturday. It seemed sort of shady, but also it was lunchtime and Feliciano was really hungry, so he didn't hesitate in jumping out of the car and starting for the diner.

The second he opened the door and stepped in the place, which was just as decrepit inside as it was outside, he noticed a man sitting in a booth that looked freakishly familiar. Blond and with incredibly prominent eyebrows, he was the same exact man from that weird dream with the chalk. He probably would have recognized him right off the bat even if Flying Mint Bunny hadn't been hovering beside his head.

From the smile and beckoning hand motion, it seemed he knew who they were as well. Or maybe just assumed no one else would probably be coming in there but them. That was pretty likely.

England stood up to greet them, shaking Feliciano's hand as he approached. "It's quite nice to finally meet you," he said, sounding a bit more actually British than he was expecting. "My name is Arthur Kirkland."

"I'm Feliciano Vargas!", he said in turn, really not sure what to say otherwise. He had a million questions, but was unsure which to ask first.

"My name is Ludwig Beilschmidt," his friend continued, offering a hand to Arthur, who quickly took it.

Kiku didn't offer a hand, but simply bowed politely. "And I am Kiku Honda. It is very nice to meet you."

They all sat down in the booth, Flying Mint Bunny hovering about and Kiku trying very hard to create a healthy amount of distance between himself and England, who he sort of had to sit next to. "It was a good move to choose such an uncrowded location," Ludwig remarked after a moment.

"Ah, I just like the food here, to be honest," admitted Arthur, who shoved a menu at the other side of the booth. "Anyone want anything? I'll buy."

While the other two rejected the offer, Feliciano was kind of starving. Scanning the menu, he found pretty typical food, with only really the Fish and Chips sticking out as unusual. Well, if he was with England, it made sense to eat British-type food, right? "Can I get the Fish and Chips?"

Arthur smiled and looked at Ludwig. "Mind getting up to order for us? We have a lot to talk about."

"Sure," Ludwig said, but he glared at Arthur like it was very far from okay.

"Oh, and can you get me another tea? Mine's gone cold," Arthur added as Ludwig got up. His request was met with another glare.

Flying Mint Bunny hovered in the general space where Ludwig's head had been a moment prior and gave a small frown. "There's no reason to be rude!", it berated.

"My apologies, but I don't want to involve civilians more than I have to," explained England. "Sometimes the cold shoulder is the only way to keep people from sticking their noses where they don't belong."

Feliciano was preparing to say something to defend his friend, but Flying Mint Bunny did it for him. "Actually, I've been doubting he's actually a civilian," it said. "Given his association with so many other Countries, and specifically with these two, I think he might just be one himself."

"I kind of thought that too," Feliciano admitted.

"Given what I know of the Country Spirits from before all this happened, I definitely remember Germany being really close friends with Japan and Italy, so it's possible he's Germany," suggested Flying Mint Bunny.

Kiku looked oddly excited by this prospect. "If all three of us were Nation Scouts, that would truly be amazing, don't you think?"

"Eh, 'Nation Scouts'?", England repeated. "I don't believe I've heard that before."

Smiling, which Feliciano noted he'd done an awful lot more lately than usual, Kiku said "I made it up. I thought it sounded better than just referring to ourselves as 'Countries'."

Arthur nodded. "Yes, it does sound a bit better. Now, on to why I wanted to talk to you all. All this… 'Nation Scout' business must seem horribly confusing. I know I wasn't really sure what to make of it at first, but I got used to it and things have pretty much just gone on as normal."

That was pretty much exactly what he wanted to hear. Feliciano felt a smile spreading across his face. "Seriously?"

Arthur nodded. "Sure, there's the stray attack from-"

A chiming of the door in the front of the diner signaled someone else had entered, and from the way Arthur's eyes narrowed as he walked in, Feliciano assumed it wasn't anyone good. He looked pretty non-threatening, wearing a white hat and blue uniform, but a cold look in his eyes made him sure that this guy wasn't a friend.

"England," the man greeted, and from the corner of his eye, Feliciano could see that Flying Mint Bunny had suddenly vanished.

Standing up, Arthur replied with "Finland. I see you're doing well. How's the family?"

A sour expression crossed the face of this "Finland". "Please stop with the small talk," he requested. "I was sent here to trail the new ones, but, well, I'm outmatched and we both know it. So, I'll just ask you what I came here to find out: what powers do they possess?"

"Water and Light, from what I've heard," he replied simply. "Seem a bit underwhelming, to be honest. Nothing you need to concern yourselves with, I think."

"That's it?", Finland pressed, but an odd expression crossed his face. "Nothing else? Do you want me to make you all fight me?"

To prove his point, he conjured a sniper rifle from nowhere. "No!", Feliciano quickly exclaimed. "We don't want to fight you!"

"Eh, that'll work," Finland shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not really sure why they sent just me, but I'm sure they'll accept bad timing as an excuse. Have a nice day."

Gun vanishing into light, Finland walked back out of the diner. Feliciano was glad they'd avoided a fight, but a bit suspicious of that odd smirk he gave as he left.

"He'll be back," Arthur stated as the little bell on the door rung again as Finland left. "He's planning something, I'm sure." Grabbing a napkin, he scribbled a phone number down on it before handing it to them. "Probably isn't good for you to stick around here. Give me a call later and we can talk."

This all seemed a bit off to Feliciano, but he took the napkin and nodded. "Um, see you later, then."

He caught Ludwig, who still standing at the counter, by the arm and proceeded to walk out, still feeling uneasy about the whole ordeal. Some sort of red warning light was going off, and he knew deep down that something was off with England. Still, he was so grateful for his reassurance that he really didn't care.

* * *

 _ **AN- Behold! Finland not doing anything! Yeah, this chapter was sort of weird and more exposition, but hey, at least England is a part of the story now. And also very suspicious. That's good, right? Right? Thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	11. Golden Thread

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Ten- Golden Thread_

The slamming of the door behind Ludwig drew his brother's eyes.

"You're home early," Gilbert remarked nonchalantly, but something, maybe the way Ludwig shook his head or clenched his fist or something made him change his tune. "What, did something happen?"

"Yes, actually," Ludwig muttered under his breath. "Something" didn't begin to cut it. Pretty much everything possible that was completely unexplainable had happened in the past several days.

Why did Gilbert seem to always get so excited at the prospect of his problems? "Really?", he questioned, red eyes widening. "What happened? Get in a fight? Feli get a new girlfriend? Spilled water on your nerdy planner thing?"

"Uh, no," Ludwig flatly stated. He wasn't sure whether to be upset that his own brother thought such things would set him off, or that come to think of it, all of those things would probably set him off.

As he proceeded to hang his coat up and start walking in the general direction of his room, Gilbert interrupted him with an annoyed "Well, why are you all pouty then?"

"I am not 'all pouty'," he protested, trying very hard to keep his face in as neutral an expression as possible to maintain this claim. "I am just not in a particularly good mood due to circumstances that would take too long to explain."

His brother smirked, like that was to be taken as a challenge. "Oh come on, I'm done with work for the day, and Gilbird and Fritz are asleep," he complained, gesturing to the birdcage next to his computer, which as he said, contained two sleeping canaries. "So I have time, and what sort of big brother would I be if I didn't worry about your problems?"

What had they said about telling people? Feliciano had pretty much said he'd have told them all about it eventually had they not been attacked, so there didn't seem to be a major problem with telling people. On the other hand, Arthur had expressed his desire not to involve civilians… while all but forcing him to leave. "I could explain things," Ludwig decided. "But you wouldn't believe me."

Gilbert chuckled. "Really? You think someone who hangs around Toni and Francy-pants would have anything left to not believe?"

Remembering the many, many crazy things his brother had come home late and attempted to explain to either him or his late grandfather, Ludwig sat down next to Gilbert. "Fair point. I can try to explain, but first I need a new notebook."

Grumbling, his brother stood up, went over to his desk, and plucked a cheap spiral-bound black notebook from the bottom of a stack of various papers. "What, do you need to explain it with spreadsheets or something?"

Ludwig pulled a pen out of his pocket. It was the blue one he used to notate his brother's schedule, and he supposed it would work well enough for this. "Practically. See, it's a very long story and I'm not too sure how to explain it properly."

How had Feli started the other day? That conversation, all he could remember of it was his friend crying in his arms after having been impaled, and he cursed his memory for focusing on that. No, wait, Kiku had compared it to something, and he smirked. "Well, you know that show you threatened to disembowel me over if I told anyone you watched it?"

"Which one?", Gilbert questioned.

His mind blanked on the title, so he searched for it out loud. "Ah, you know, the one with the- the girl who transforms and is like, the Moon Scout or something."

"Sailor Moon?" He nodded, and Gilbert gave one of his odd laughs. "Kesesese! What kind of complicated equation starts with Magical Girls?"

"Apparently, my life," Ludwig sighed. "See, a few days ago, Feliciano told me that he was-"

"Gay?" Gilbert interjected hopefully.

Why did his brother have such a one-track mind? It got a bit annoying at times, how he seemed to care more about him getting together with Feliciano than he did about him on his own. "No, that he was like that Sailor Moon girl, except instead of the moon he's the Magical Soldier of the country Italy."

For once, his brother didn't say anything stupid. He didn't say anything at all, actually. Just stared at him like he was the one being stupid. "I wish I was joking," Ludwig added after a minute. "But given he transformed right in front of me and proceed to fight a crazy woman who attempted to kill us with scarves and survived blows humans shouldn't be able to survive, I don't think that's the case."

"Okay, so Feli's a Magical Girl," Gilbert said after a minute with a shrug. "Can't say it surprises me that much. Bet Kiku likes that; he loves those kinds of shows."

"Well, he's Japan, so I'd imagine he likes it."

Gilbert stared at nothing for a second before laughing. "Okay, this is actually awesome. Like, almost approaching my awesomeness level. So you three fight monsters in the name of justice or something?"

This seemed like a good opportunity to begin using the notebook. Ludwig flipped it open and started writing about their enemies, explaining it out loud as he did so "We fight other countries that are working together to… well, possibly to capture us, but they haven't been trying particularly hard to do so. The last one just asked them for their skill sets and left. Not even the, erm flying invisible rabbit that gives the others advice seems to know what exactly they're going after. But they attack us without provocation, so-"

"Wait, go back: 'flying invisible rabbit'?"

"I wish that was a joke," Ludwig muttered as his brother dissolved into laughter. "Apparently it prefers the name 'Flying Mint Bunny'."

Though Gilbert continued to laugh even harder, Ludwig's focus was pulled by a familiar chime from his phone. Quickly, he read the message Feliciano had sent: "Just fought Norway. He's really strong, but England did a bunch of cool magic stuff and we beat him."

Another text came a second later. "England said he'd bring us home so don't worry about picking us up. See you tomorrow!"

Several emoticons followed the message, including one that looked like it was blowing a kiss. This was probably why Gilbert, who was reading over his shoulder, said "Awe, my future brother-in-law's so cute, isn't he? Who's England, some other friend you have I don't know about?"

Ludwig took this opportunity to add his least favorite non-enemy Country so far into the notebook. The entry was something along the lines of "England is Arthur Kirkland, powers are 'cool magic stuff', apparently. Doesn't want civilians involved." He explained his feelings towards the man to his brother as he did so in much less polite language.

"Wait, his name's Arthur Kirkland?", Gilbert questioned. When he nodded, another bout of weird laughter began. "Francis told me about a British-y guy called that. Said he was a stick-in-the-mud. Weird, you usually go for guys like that."

"Not when they're telling me I shouldn't interfere in the lives of my friends."

"Why not interfere? I mean, if those two are awesome Magical Girl countries, aren't you?"

The previous day at the diner, he'd vaguely overheard that possibility come up, and Feli had told him more about that on the way back. "Well, they think I could be Germany, but I'm not certain," he admitted.

"Well then, how do you activate your inner Germany?", prompted Gilbert, clearly unable to say it with a straight face. "Didn't expect to be saying that today. Or ever."

Wracking his mind, he tried to remember how it had been said that they transformed. "I'm not certain. One moment."

Quickly, he pulled his phone back out and texted a simple question to his more magical friends: "Remind me, how do you transform? There's some sort of item thing involved, right?"

Kiku alone quickly responded (Feliciano had probably fallen asleep in the car again): "Yes. With an item someone important gives to us like Feli's cross necklace we can use their love to power our attacks."

After a second, Kiku added: "Oh my god that sounds really stupid out loud. My life is a Shoujo manga and I can't stop it. Also, why are you asking?"

He texted a single word back: "Gilbert" and hoped that would be enough.

"Apparently with jewelry given to us by people we care about," Ludwig said, processing how stupid that sounded and letting out a (very) small chuckle. " _Mein Gott_ , this really does sound like a cartoon for little girls."

"You German-ed! See, it's working already!", Gilbert happily exclaimed. "But, like, do you even have any jewlery? Did gramps give you anything? Or Feli, he's artsy, right? You could probably ask him and he'd make you a friendship bracelet or something."

Friendship bracelet… Vaguely, he remembered something about one of those. "I think he made me one when we were children, but I haven't seen it in years. I think I lost it somewhere, perhaps."

An odd expression crossed Gilbert's face. One that clearly read "Oh crap". "Uh, I think I actually might know where that is!", he quickly exclaimed and ran into his room at breakneck speed. A few moments later, he returned with a shoebox labeled "My awesome stuff, do not touch" in handwriting that must have belonged to a much younger version of his brother.

"Okay, no idea how, but I was looking through my stuff a while back and I saw a little string bracelet thing that might be what you're talking about," Gilbert said with nervousness that translated the sentence for him. Translation: "I just remembered I stole that from you when we were kids. Sorry, here it is."

He dug out a slightly faded looking loop of three pieces of embroidery floss braided together that seemed far too big for a child's wrist. Memories flooded back, of his dear friend blushing and forcing it around his wrist, quickly apologizing when it turned out to be too big to fit even when wrapped around twice. "This is the one," he said, taking the strings in his hand. "Do you think this could work, though? Even if I am Germany, this was given to me so long ago that…"

"Wait, look at it for a second," Gilbert prompted. "The colors, I mean."

The colors? They were faded, but one string had clearly once been a much brighter red, now looking almost pink, another was a faded yellow, almost gold and the last a dark grey that had to have once been black. Those colors… Something pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Black, red, gold: that's the German flag, isn't it?"

"Well, it's official: my brother is Magical Germany," Gilbert declared. "So you go do your Magical Girl stuff and show that _dummkopf_ England up, and I'll see if I can get a hold of Francy-pants and tell him about his bad taste in friends."

Ludwig wrapped the bracelet around his wrist. It was too big even now, and he had to wrap it around his pinky finger as well to keep it in place. The feel of it felt familiar, but not just because he'd worn it out of obligation until his brother had swiped it. No, there was something there other than simple threads. There was a power, a connection, the thing that would stop the people he cared about from drifting away. He felt stronger, like he could actually fight if he wanted to. Heat and energy surged around his wrist, and he stood up and went to the door. Feliciano- no, Italy needed to see this.

* * *

 _ **AN- Aaand we have Sailor Germany, right on schedule. Sorry if it feels like I'm jumping around a bit, but trust me, between the end of last chaoter and the beginning of this one, all that happened was everyone went home, met up with England again the next day, and he sent Germany home while everyone else fought Norway. Sorry if not much happened this chapter, but we needed more Prussia in this story. Who has multiple birds! And one named after his most favorite ruler! (Totally didn't get his insult towards England from an anime I don't watch. Yep. Totally didn't do that.) Also, everyone is slowly realizing that they can't escape the girliness of the plot they are in. Kolkolkolkol...**_

 _ **So, if anyone cares to help, I need a few little details to be worked out. For one, what should England's transformation trinket be? I couldn't find anything on his outfit that seemed fitting, but I made something up for the others, so I can make one up for him. Also, what powers and/or weapon should Turkey have? I want to use him for a little fight sequence thing later on, and he's pretty much the only one I have no ideas for.**_

 _ **So, thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	12. White Threads

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Eleven- White Threads_

Like flowers, England's spell circles bloomed across the barren parking lot, seeking their target. Said target, Norway, managed to deflect the only one close enough to hit him with a broadsword. A brilliant ray of light shot from the impact like fireworks. Violet-reds shot across the mid-afternoon sky, producing something way too pretty to be coming from a battle. They almost looked like they were about to hit Kiku, but in a really hazy sense...

"Italy! Stop standing around and help fight!", England ordered, snapping Feliciano out of his daze.

He gave a small salute. "Yes sir!"

Taking his flag in hand, Italy attempted to send a few Light Bullets towards Norway. Really none of them hit, so he stepped back again to let Kiku rush in with his sword.

"You know, your new allies are a bit underwhelming," Norway flatly told England as he parried it with his own blade. "I can't see why Tino wanted me to follow up on this. Really, neither of them will be much of a threat for another few months."

With an annoyed sigh, England waved the magic wand he was holding and produced a small sphere of magic-y energy. "You can leave if you don't think this is worthwhile. Really, I won't stop you."

As it shot at Norway, he shook his head and sent his own charge of magic at England's. They exploded in a spray of sparks, and a small cry of pain came from beside him.

"You okay?", he quickly asked a slightly cinged Kiku, who nodded wordlessly and sent a Water Cutter at the enemy. That was weird, Feliciano had thought he'd seen Kiku getting hit a second ago, but it only happened… Ah, he was probably just letting the fighting get to him.

More spell circles spread across the pavement, but these were Norway's. The indigo color of their glow told him that much, as they were quite unlike cyan of his ally's magic. Bolts of lightning struck each in turn, forcing England to sidestep one a bit.

"If you aren't going to try, there's no reason for you to be here," he taunted. He was hit with a quick blast of violet fire for his trouble.

Norway prepared another blast, but Japan's Water Cutter shred it to bits before it could be sent out. Kiku then held his blade aloft, water surrounding it. "Finishing move: Mercury Coil!", he cried as he swung his sword, sending the water in a spiraling jet towards the enemy.

"Your juniors are rather immature…", scoffed Norway as he sidestep the attack. "Really, I would have expected more from a G8 Coun-"

Another magic circle spread under Norway's feet, glowing a harsh cyan. The water Kiku had sent at him reformed and coiled around his leg as he tried to sidestep it. "Ah, what's the point if you can't have a bit of fun?", England questioned with a mocking grin. "How about this: Hex Storm!"

The sky filled with comet-like streaks, all converging upon the spell circle. Bright light filled the air as they hit, and when they cleared, Norway had vanished.

Dusting himself off, England glanced back at the two of them. "Good work, everyone. Japan, I must admit, calling out finishing moves is rather satisfying. Italy, you might should at least try to fight. I mean, you did well not getting hit, but you should learn how to fend for yourself in case you get caught alone again."

Feliciano nodded, silently protesting that he'd done just fine without him before. Even if he didn't totally trust him yet, even if he didn't like how he pushed Ludwig away, he was really happy that he had England to fight alongside. The sidelines, after all, were a much nicer place to be in these fights.

* * *

Later that evening, after Arthur had brought him home, Feliciano was attempting to make dinner. Lovino wasn't home yet, and the quiet of the house would have made him nervous if he wasn't so tired. Even though he'd slept the entire way back, he was still completely wiped from the fight. It was getting a bit better, he noticed, and maybe in a few months using his powers would barely bother him at all, but as is he probably would have gone to bed before the sun if he hadn't been craving Italian food so much.

He'd managed to find a few of Grandpa's old cookbooks, and had settled on something to make, but some movement outside the window stopped him right before he was about to put the pasta on to boil. A shadowy figure that looked like a girl wearing a dress… oh, he was just getting paranoid, right? It was just a tree, right? Right?

Looking again, he did not see anything that could be mistaken for a person. Must have just been a passing car shadow or something, he thought, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw something again. Blue… he saw a flash of blue. A dark blue, a midnight-navy that contrasted with the orange sky of sunset.

Setting down the pot of water on the counter, Feliciano slowly made his way towards the window and pushed the blinds farther apart to peer through them better. Barely, he could see a familiar figure sulking in the shadow of the house next door, looking like she was talking on a cell phone or something. He was sure of it: that girl was the one who had attacked him all those years ago, the night the masked hero had saved him.

That girl, she looked exactly like she had all those years ago, and even held the same knife in her other hand. So he was right, then! That had happened, and if she was reappearing now, surely it meant that she had been connected to the whole Nation Scout thing. Did she know about the hero that saved him that night? It was a terrible impulse, but Feliciano was overwhelmed with a desire to look further into this. Maybe he could just go up and talk to her…?

Hands shaking, he made his way to the front door and slowly opened it. This was a terrible idea, he was going to get himself killed, but he wanted to know what had happened all those years ago. She, well, maybe she'd be willing to talk. Finland and Lithuania had been kind of nice, so who's to say she wouldn't be either? Plus, she'd been so sad when she'd attacked him back then, so maybe she just didn't want to fight?

These vain hopes kept him lightly walking out the door and making his way towards her. She was facing away and talking into her phone in a language he didn't understand. (Russian, maybe?)

Very suddenly, she shifted to English in her conversation. "Please, sir, I have no way of telling if the HRE-"

A gap of silence, like someone was talking to her, and then she burst out with "Katyusha wasn't able to tell either! And I doubt even Ivan would be able to tell from one battle."

The girl gave a shudder as whoever she was talking to continued to talk. "I- I understand. I will not let them down."

After that, she hung the phone up and turned around before Feliciano could duck out of the way. She jumped a bit as she saw him, but then began giggling. "Ah, I see what my big sister told me was true," she remarked, really creeping him out. "This job'll actually be quite easy."

Laughing, she held up her knife and began to approach him. "No, no, I just wanted to talk, that's all!", he assured her, waving his hands frantically. "See, not even armed! You wouldn't kill someone without a fair chance, right?"

"What's your deal?", she questioned with a huff. "I was told you were an airhead, but not this much. Transform if you must, but it'll probably hurt less if you don't struggle."

"I just wanted to ask you a question!", he cried, taking a few backwards steps. "Remember like, ten years ago when you tried to kill me?"

She raised a questioning eyebrow. "Ten years-? No. I'd remember if I'd met such an annoying person before."

"Oh come on, I was real little and you were exactly the same and then you came after me with that knife and that cool masked guy saved me! You remember that, right?"

Taking a few more steps forward, the girl brandished her knife once more threateningly. "Tell me all you know about this 'masked guy'! Do so or you won't live to take another step!"

"I don't know anything about him!", Feliciano vowed. "That's why I was asking you! I thought he might be a country or something and you, well, you seem to know that sort of stuff, so-"

Without warning, his entire body froze in place. He couldn't move at all, save for very shallow breaths. The girl smirked. "That's much better. If you won't talk about anything meaningful, well, I'm sure everyone would be alright if I just brought you with me and they examined you themselves."

Examined? What was she talking about? His heart pounded like crazy, which was about the only thing he could feel, as her paralysis spell and the chill of the air made him numb. As she took a few steps closer, he could hear a car somewhere behind him, and then footsteps, but nothing really registered. Either her magic or knife were making black spots dance in front of his eyes. He couldn't even look away as she prepared to cut into him.

Suddenly, she stopped, and a bright light filled the air. It was just like that night, and for a moment, he was positive that mysterious hero had returned. Well, at least until he heard a very familiar voice. "Not another step!"

Ludwig dashed out in front of him, but he looked different somehow. Definitely taller, and wearing some sort of army green uniform, with a few strands of string coiled around his hand. The paralysis broke, and Feliciano was able to clutch at the cross around his neck and fill himself with his own power. A burst of light filled him with power, but also with fatigue, even before he produced his flag and stood next to his friend.

The girl looked rather horrified by the fact that two Nation Scouts stood before her. "Ah, but you-?" She cut herself off with a grimace. "Whatever. I'll just bring home two candidates instead of one."

"What is she talking about?", Ludwig questioned, but Feliciano simply shrugged. His friend turned to the knife-brandishing girl and with a wave of his hand, sent thin wires shooting across the yard. They attached to trees, the ground, even houses, and formed an odd sort of web, trapping their enemy in the middle.

In a sudden burst of inspiration, Feliciano held his flag in both hands, pointing the end at the girl and focusing whatever energy he sent through it at the end. A larger ball of light shot towards her, hitting her in the chest and casting a white glow on the threads trapping her in place. The girl scowled, and started to throw a knife at him, but Ludwig quickly materialized some sort of axe and charged towards her with it. Right before it struck her, it morphed into a spear, and a shower of light obscured the impact. Once it had faded, she had vanished.

Both of them stood there for a moment, trying to catch their breaths before both of their transformations fell away and left the two simply standing in the dying sunlight.

"That… was really cool…" Feliciano praised between breaths. "How did you… I didn't know you were…"

"I overheard you saying... I might be Germany…" panted Ludwig, steadying himself by leaning on a nearby tree. "Found this bracelet you gave me… Gilbert stole it… Is this always so tiring?"

A weary laugh came out, and Feliciano suddenly embraced his friend. "I'm happy… I can... fight with you…" he breathed. "I was… worried but… I think everything will be fine… with you…"

If he didn't know better, he'd have sworn Ludwig was smiling. "I'm very glad… I can fight… at your side..."

As they stood there, barely able to breathe, Feliciano realized he hadn't learned anything about that hero who'd saved him, and that the girl had all but denied the existence of such an event. It didn't bother him, though. After all, if he had to choose between a mysterious hero and the person he loved most rescuing him, he'd choose Ludwig every time.

* * *

 ** _AN- So Germany is pretty much a metal bender. With razor wire attacks and a morphing weapon. I went with that last one just because his surname basically means "Axe Smith", and the pun was very necessary. And I really hope I got Belarus's characterization alright. I sort of like her dryness. Hopefully, I'll get to use her and her siblings more in the future. Norway was pretty fun too, actually. I look forward to writing the rest of his family as well._**

 ** _So, I got good ideas for England's item and Turkey's powers, and I thank you all for that. However, I've found I completely lack any ideas for powers and weapons for the rest of the Baltics, so I'd love to hear suggestions for Estonia and Latvia, if anyone has any. And maybe a transformation thing for Lithuania? I'd like it to be something Poland might have feasibly given him, so feel free to go with something silly, 'cause that'd_** _totally_ ** _fit._**

 ** _So, thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	13. Red Sight

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twelve- Red Sight_

"...Ve?"

Opening his eyes and letting out a confused noise, Feliciano found himself standing in a dimly lit hallway. It looked almost mechanical, with the walls and floors both being textured sheets of dull, grey metal, with rust blossoming in corners. It jutted out in odd places, like support pillars, but in the exact same metal as everything else.

The whole place was cold and damp, with an odd aroma filling the air. Mechanized clicks filled the air, like the ticking of a clock, but punctuated with a low groaning. Vaguely, he could make out blood splatters on the ground, and a shiver ran down his spine. He was sure this was a place where people had died, or at very least where terrible things had happened.

"I-is anyone here?", he cried out weakly. This place, with all its unpleasantness, wasn't one he wanted to be alone in. "Ludwig, Kiku, Arthur; please, anyone, can you hea-"

Footsteps cut him off. Hope filled him for a split second, or at least until the figure producing them came into sight. It was the girl who had attacked him that evening, wearing not her normal blue dress but a more casual blue skirt and black jacket, though she had the same hairbow on. Well, he supposed he had called for "anyone", and even she was better than being alone in this place. Besides, he seemed to already have his Italy powers up, so if things went south, he could always fight back.

"Ah, hey!", he called out to her as she walked past. She ignored him, but Feliciano quickly started walking beside her and kept trying to chat. "Do you know where we are? I mean, yeah, you tried to kill me earlier, but I mean, this place is kinda scary! So, uh, can you help me out here?"

She didn't even acknowledge him in the slightest. "Hey! I know we fought, but please, I just wanna leave!", he cried out loudly, waving a hand in front of her face. She didn't so much as blink.

Suddenly, he heard running footsteps directly behind him, and a person- one he recognized as someone he'd fought before (Lithuania, maybe?) took their place beside the girl, practically right on top of him. It was like they were a ghost, passing straight through him- No, he thought as he moved out of the way and walked behind the two, he was the ghost. That girl wasn't ignoring him, she couldn't see him at all.

Was he dead? No, that wasn't right. Feliciano thought back to what he'd been doing before showing up here, and realized that the last thing he remembered was going to bed. Must have been another one of those weird dreams, then, but this one felt so much more… real, for lack of a better word. Could Countries see other things going on in their sleep? He made a note to ask Flying Mint Bunny about that when he woke up, and continued to follow the two.

Lithuania greeted the girl with a quick "Hey, Na- er, Belarus, um, they wanted to see you in the meeting hall."

The girl, apparently "Belarus", scoffed. "I've heard. Why else would I be going this way, to pay Romania a visit?"

A very pained laugh escaped Lithuania. "Oh, just… making sure." After a moment, he added "No reason to be worried. I'm sure they'll just give you another warning and let you be on your way."

"Why… why would I be worried?", Belarus questioned with another scoff, but her hands shook behind her back. "Think I'm gonna go the way of dear Latvia?"

Latvia? Feliciano assumed that was a country, but he didn't know why the mention made Lithuania clench his fist and let out an odd sigh. "Bel, you'll be fine. There's no reason to think that-"

"Don't 'Bel' me!", the girl yelled back. "I don't associate so casually with weirdos wearing stupid bracelets."

Lithuania held up his wrist, glancing at the rather pink charm bracelet around it. "It certainly isn't my fault Feliks has such strange tastes in gifts," he muttered. "But besides that, we've been working together for quite some time. Don't you think we should act more like colleagues?"

"Colleagues don't call each other such stupid things," huffed Belarus, who began walking a few steps ahead of Lithuania.

"I suppose so…", Lithuania admitted. "Would you rather me just call you by your surname?"

Belarus looked back at him with a sneer. "Belarus has worked just fine up until now. Why change it?"

Pink spread across Lithuania's face. "Sorry! I just thought- well, that it might be nice to be better friends!"

"I'm not your friend," she barked back. "No one in this place is your 'friend'. No one here is anyone's 'friend'!"

Neither spoke for a moment until they arrived at a door, which Lithuania wordlessly held open for Belarus. Feliciano slipped in after her, wondering vaguely what this "meeting" would be.

His breath caught in his throat as he looked around the meeting room. The woman Belarus took a seat next to was most certainly the one who had attacked him and his friends with scarves, and on her other side was a man he recognized as the one who had attacked with ice needles in another dream of his. Lithuania sat down between Switzerland and a masked person he didn't recognize, and at the head of the table was Finland, who was wearing an odd headset and was gripping the table oddly. It was like a party where everyone wanted to kill him, and he became profoundly grateful that he was invisible to them.

After a moment, Finland cleared his throat. "Ah, hello… The- er, our leader is having me speak on his behalf today," he began. "And, ah- well, we're here to discuss a few things, but first and foremost, well, Belarus's fate…"

"Please, dear Natalia hasn't done anything wrong," the woman who had attacked them with scarves insisted. "Everyone slips up every once in awhile. Not one of us has been able to identify the HRE."

"The HRE", there it was again. Belarus had mentioned it before, but what did it mean?

Finland gave a deep sigh and said in an emotionless tone "Our leader wishes to inform me that failing to identify the HRE was not Belarus's main transgression. This is only the latest in a succession of failures. Multiple failed attempt to confirm the status of Roderich Edelstein and Feliks Lukasiewicz as Countries, multiple attempts to escape, multiple charges of theft, and the poor performance as well of her siblings make her a liability."

"My little sister hasn't done anything wrong," insisted the scarf-wearing man with a smile quite unfitting of the situation, contrasting with the horrified expression of his two (apparent) sisters. "She's just been recieving difficult jobs, that's all. I wouldn't have done it any differently."

Keeping his death grip on the table with one hand, Finland put his other to the headset and gave a sad frown. "Our leader… he says that he'll give her one last chance. If she fails to neutralize Italy or obtain information on the HRE by tomorrow, she will be neutralized herself."

Belarus was visibly trembling, but nodded. "Y-yes sir," she said with a vacant tone. "I won't- I won't fail this time."

Her brother put a hand on her shoulder. "Of course you won't. We'll help you capture Italy," he declared.

"Of course," her sister added. "With three of us, we should be able to overwhelm him easily."

"I- I'll help too!", Lithuania volunteered, but Switzerland gave him a shake of the head.

Finland stared blankly at the scene before flatly stating "Oh, yes, our leader wants to assign you to the Feliks Lukasiewicz case. Given what we've heard of Germany's awakening, we believe that he would be useful surveillance to have."

Gripping the charm bracelet he wore and turning as white as copy paper, Lithuania gave a shaky nod.

"And Turkey, our leader wants you to talk to our Second-in-Command," Finland added, nodding towards the masked man.

An odd sensation came over Feliciano very suddenly, like being pulled back through the veil he was wandering about in.

* * *

"Was there anything after that?", pressed Ludwig.

Feliciano sighed. That story had taken a long time to remember, especially when recollecting it to so many at once over the phone, but it seemed to end there. "Um, no. I think I woke up after that."

One end of the phone call gave a small "hmm", and Arthur then remarked "Well, if anything, at least we know that Italy's in danger. We'll come to your house in the morning and wait Belarus out, so whenever she and her siblings come they'll be outmatched."

Pulling the comforter closer to his body, Feliciano gave a small, tired "Okay. Can we talk about it in the morning?"

"You were the one to call us at three in the morning when we have school in the morning," Kiku countered.

"Oh yeah. School. That's a thing," Feliciano muttered. "Does hiding from a scary knife girl count as an excused absence?"

Ludwig gave a small laugh. "Doubtful. I'm fairly certain Gilbert's friends with Miss Hedervary, so we can get her to vouch for us if we must."

"And if I must, I can fake some sort of illness," Kiku said.

Arthur laughed a bit too loudly for the lateness of the hour into his end of the call. "Well, I suppose it's settled. We can meet first thing in the morning there and hope Belarus isn't too much of an early riser."

A distant voice suddenly came from his line: "Yo, Artie! Who're ya talking to?", questioned a voice.

Seemingly yelling while covering the phone, Arthur replied with "Work call! Nothing important. Go to bed Alfred, Matthew probably would like to get some sleep for once!"

"Whatever!", "Alfred" called back.

"Sorry!", Arthur said hastily and far more quietly. "Seems my brother was up. I don't want him to know what I'm up to, you know? Don't want him to get involved, if at all possible. Much safer to keep my business and personal life separate."

"Oh, speaking of personal, I'd been meaning to ask," Ludwig said. "My brother has a friend, er, Francis Bonnefoy, who has apparently mentioned someone sharing your name before."

Yawning, Feliciano added "Oh, you know Francis?"

The phone went strangely silent for a moment. "You could say that," Arthur said rather quietly. "I- er, well, it's a bit complicated and I would rather not talk about it right now. Why don't you all get some sleep? Big battle tomorrow, don't want to run out of steam, right?"

"Very well then," Kiku said. "Good night."

"Yes, good night," Ludwig repeated.

The phone went silent, leaving Feliciano laying there and wondering how he was going to get any sleep knowing that his head was worth so much to Belarus.

* * *

 ** _AN- Look, there's America for five seconds. Hi America! And Russia. See, he's not actually the Big Bad, just a concerned brother. I'm starting to like Belarus and Lithuania a lot. Starting to regret not giving them better lots in this story. Well, not too much, but I'm having fun with them. I'm having fun with Italy's powers too. They aren't even that made up! (Remember that one episode where Chibitalia dreamed about Japan? I figured that was basis enough for dreamy-vision.) And dear Finland is being used as someone's mouthpiece. Some "leader". Wonder who that is. ...Well, I don't wonder, but you probably do. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**

 ** _PS, am I jumping around too much? Like, would it have been better if I'd shown Italy waking up explicitly and calling the others up and telling them the things rather than just implied that all happened? I just thought the pace was dragging a bit towards the beginning and I was trying to cut out the unimportant parts to make it more interesting. But if you'd rather me explicitly show how we got from point A to point B rather than just focusing on the events of A and B without worrying too much about the in-between, please tell me._**


	14. Scarlet Slice

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirteen- Scarlet Slice_

In Feliciano's honest opinion, it was too early in the morning for battle strategies. Like, way too early. In fact, it was so early that he was attempting to go back to sleep, using Ludwig's arm as a pillow as he and the others discussed what they would do when Belarus and the others showed up.

"Now, given what we've seen of their movesets, my Wire attack should be useful for combating the lady with the scarf- er, did we ever get a name for her?", Ludwig questioned, and Feliciano wished he'd stop moving around so much; he had just started to get comfortable.

After a moment, Arthur offered "Well, she sounds like Ukraine. I've fought her before, really nasty fight. Took a while to get in close enough to cast anything with her scarves blocking me."

"That sounds like her!", Feliciano said, yawning. "And she had a scary pitchfork, too!"

It took Arthur a second to say anything again. "He's still awake?"

"Yes," Ludwig stated. "If people are talking, it can take him a while to get to sleep."

"Should we be quieter then?", Arthur questioned.

Feliciano was about to say that would be great… until Kiku spoke up before he could. "He will be fine," he assured them. We should focus on making certain we know how to take on this foe. Ukraine's scarves, I believe we should be able to counteract her attacks with Germany's Razor Wire-"

"It's quite fine to just keep calling me Ludwig, you know. It's worked just fine up until now."

"In this context, it sounds more appropriate to use your Nation Scout name," Kiku countered calmly. "It's a strategic calling code to indicate I am talking about you as a fighter."

Ludwig sighed, shifting his weight a bit, maybe to grab that notepad he'd been using earlier. "I think we could gather that from the fact I'm using a 'Razor Wire Attack' or whatever you called it."

"I am only trying to make things clear."

"Ah, well, regardless, we really should prioritize taking Ukraine out," Arthur butted in with a laugh. "Belarus's paralysis is more short-range, so if take Ukraine's scarves out of the picture, it should be easier to keep her at bay. But the third one- and I'm going to guess it's Russia from Italy's description- he'll be more dangerous."

Dangerous? In that dream, Belarus's brother had seemed pretty nice. Scary, sure, but not particularly dangerous. He said something to this effect, and was met with a sigh from Arthur.

"You realize he's a G8 country, right?"

G8? Oh right, Flying Mint Bunny had said those were the strongest. Well, he's said that, but he'd also said he was one, and Feliciano never felt all that strong compared to what he was up against. "But we are also G8 countries," Kiku countered. "Shouldn't that not matter as much?"

"You three are G8, sure, but you've only been at this for a few days, tops," said Arthur. "And Russia's been at it for years." He gave a loud laugh. "Still, you have a point. We're all four G8 countries! There hasn't been a team-up like this in decades! We'll do just fine- I'm absolutely-"

A loud clatter suddenly pierced the air, and Feliciano opened his eyes to see his big brother holding a pistol in one hand and a pillow in the other. "Look, I don't care what you idiots are talking about, but whatever it is, would you shut up! This is my house and I am trying to sleep!", Lovino yelled. Okay, that wasn't quite what he said, 'cause he'd been a bit more rude about it, but it was close enough.

"My apologies," Arthur quickly assured him with a strained gulp. "We- we'll try to discuss things a bit quieter."

Lovino looked around the room for a minute before sitting down on the opposite end of one of the couches from Kiku. "Well, I'm already awake, so I think I'll just listen in. See what weird crap you're up to."

"We're just discussing how to take on an enemy that's coming after us," Ludwig explained. "Nothing too interesting, but-"

"No one asked you, Beilschmidt," Lovino interrupted.

"Truthfully, we are doing little more than waiting," Kiku explained. "You are welcome to wait with us, but-"

"Really, this isn't your place to be concerned!", Arthur assured him.

Lovino gave a fairly common response: pointed the pistol he was carrying at him, making England give a nervous gulp. "My house, my brother, my problem."

"Is it really alright to be swinging that thing all over the place?", Arthur questioned, giving Feliciano a sideways glance.

He nodded. "It's okay! It's just filled with blanks!", he explained. "He just thinks it makes him look cool or something, right fratello?"

This earned him an annoyed glare. "No, it's to get your weird friends to shut up," he countered.

"We're very sorry, but I truly think-"

Whatever Arthur was saying was cut off by an odd noise from outside. As Feliciano got up to look, he quickly noticed three familiar figures standing in the street. "They're here!", he quickly alerted the others.

Everyone seemed to get up at once, including Lovino, and basically just went out the front door. Not the best battle entrance ever, but it was fine.

Belarus turned as they approached her, eyes widening as they scanned over everyone present. "There's… why are you all here?"

"Happened to be in the neighborhood," England teased, transforming in a burst of white as he said it. "Now, the brilliant warrior of magic, England shall punish you!"

Kiku seemed to almost smile as he said this. He'd written the line earlier, saying it'd be a cool thing to say. Their enemies just looked at them funny, and Lovino snickered.

Still, Feliciano tried to remember the one that had been written for him. "A-and the shining warrior of, er, light, Italy will punish you!", he affirmed, the light of his own magic enveloping him.

"The bright guardian of the sea, Japan, will bring about your end!", Kiku declared, transforming in the same burst of light. After a silent moment, he looked over at Ludwig, who had started blushing violently. "Ah, that's your cue," he stage-whispered.

Ludwig transformed in a burst of light without any fanfares. "No. I- I really don't see the point of-"

"But it'd be cool!", Feliciano implored him.

Still blushing, Ludwig very quickly recited "Fine. Er, the warrior of precision, etcetera, Germany will defeat you."

Lovino seemingly just about lost it, and dissolved into laughter. "Ahaha, yes! Please, say that like, a thousand more times. That might just be the best thing you've ever done, potato-"

"Excuse me, but I believe we have some business to attend to," Ukraine interrupted.

Yes, please," Belarus huffed. "Just hand over Italy, and no one has to get hurt."

Lovino, having quickly recovered from Ludwig's introduction, fired a shot back at her. She jumped, like she couldn't tell it was fake. "Leave my brother alone or you'll learn what 'hurt' is!"

"Ah, and I was hoping we'd be able to save my dear sister without any fighting," Russia mused. Without him even moving, cold gusts of wind filled the air, biting at Feliciano's cheeks.

Familiar scarves began to fill the icy air as well, but England nodded at Ludwig and he used another one of those Razor Wire attacks. Silvery strands shot out, cutting the scarves to shreds.

Ukraine seemed to gasp as fabric shreds dissolved in air. "Finishing attack: Raindrop Halation!", Kiku called out, and droplets of water formed in the air, quickly freezing with Russia's cold. Still, they rushed into Ukraine, making her let out another cry as she fell to the ground.

"I'll help too!", Feliciano cried out. "Ah, Light Bullet!" A few shots came from the end of his flag and rammed into her.

"I'll finish this: Arcane Strike!", England cried out, and several magic charges formed at the tip of his wand and shot into Ukraine.

A small cough came from the woman, and Feliciano felt a bit guilty about attacking her. "Please forgive me," she muttered. "I don't think… well, I don't think I can fight any more."

"It's fine," Belarus huffed. "Retreat; we can handle this on our own."

Ukraine vanished in a flash of light, and Russia stepped forward. He was still smiling. "Very sorry, but I can't let my little sister get hurt," he affirmed.

It was like winter itself was attacking. Cold and ice seemed to rush straight towards Feliciano. He squinted to see through the cold, but only saw the snow. It surrounded him in every direction. He thought he heard someone calling out to him, but didn't feel much but the biting on his flesh.

And then, a sharp pain came. A knife had been thrown towards him, hitting his arm. Another came, and a cry of pain from his stomach announced its hitting. Blood came from the cut, and another came and hit his chest. He started to feel faint, but the wind started to subside.

"You think that should do it?", someone questioned, and they were answered "Just let me finish the job."

He could see Belarus coming towards him, smiling, but giving an odd laughing sob like she had the very first time they had fought. She never reached him, though.

"Get away from him!", Lovino yelled, and it felt like all the power was rushing away from Feliciano. White glowed instead around his brother, whose empty gun seemed to be covered with the same light and transform as he did. His brother stood in front of him in a tan uniform, holding a rather dangerous looking gun.

Feliciano knew they kept fighting. Yeah, he definitely knew that, because he could see the cyan circles and silver threads crossing around. But whatever Lovino had done, absorbing his power or whatever, it made those cuts Belarus had given him hurt a lot more than any other injuries he'd gotten fighting before. Red blossomed onto the pavement, and he tried very hard not to think about where it was coming from, or about the pounding in his head. He just tried to follow the brilliant colors filling the air.

Distantly, he heard a cry of "Finishing move: Hex Storm!", and the same comet streaks that had taken Norway out filled the air. Someone let out a cry of pain, and another flash of light signaled that someone had warped away.

A second later, he found a hand taking his own and pulling him to his feet. "Lovino, whatever you did, please undo it," Ludwig ordered. "Your brother needs to heal."

Lovino glanced at him, and he let out an odd noise. "Ah, right," he muttered. "Um, how do I-"

He made a sort of pushing motion with his hands, and magic seemed to shoot back into Feliciano's veins. The cuts stopped feeling like they were killing him and more like they needed bandaids. Stumbling a bit, he ran over to his brother and hugged him. "I didn't know you could use my magic!", he exclaimed. "That was super cool! I mean, it hurt a lot, but it was cool!"

An odd little chuckle came from his brother. "Well, I'm Lovino Freaking Vargas. Shouldn't be surprising that I saved your sorry-"

His boasting was cut off by a small cry. Feliciano turned to see a fairly battered Belarus making her way towards them, tears streaming down her face. "Please," she almost whispered. "Can- can you just let me win? I don't know what they'll do to me, but I'm scared. Come on, please just let me win!"

Stumbling, she kept walking towards him, but Feliciano didn't feel scared. No, he was just sorry for the girl. She seemed pretty nice, despite everything, and he didn't want her to suffer. Yeah, he didn't want to suffer either, but surely there was a way they could both "win".

"Can't you just not go back?", he suggested. She looked at him oddly, like he was being stupid. He probably was, but it was worth a shot. "I mean, you could always just not work with them."

She shook her head. "If I quit, they'll kill Ivan and Katyusha," she muttered. "I can't- I have to-"

A cyan circle blossomed under her. "Very sorry about this," Arthur apologized as a violet flame sprung up around her. Fading into white light, Belarus's scream lingered in the air far longer than it should have.

The magic around Feliciano fell away again. Red was still coming from his cuts, and his eyelids felt heavy. Was it his injuries or Lovino's magic that made him want to sleep so badly?

Either way, he saw the shadowy figure of Belarus continue to cry out in pain and beg to be spared in his dreams, but he also felt someone holding his hand as he watched it. Someone told him that everything would be fine, and in his haze, he managed to believe them.

* * *

 **AN- And Romano did a thing! I know I didn't get his character quite right, but I really hate using profanity myself and it's a bit tricky to write him without it. Plus, it's how Italy perceives his brother, so it's hard to gather things like how he went out there because he was feeling left out of all the cool magic stuff. And for the many people who have been asking for China to be in this, I have good news for you: I believe you are going to like the next chapter very much. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**


	15. Crimson Calls

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Fourteen- Crimson Calls_

After only a few days with the loud scream of the life of a Magical Girl in his ear, Kiku already found the silence hard to adjust to. Since they'd taken down Belarus's team, nothing at all had happened. No one had attacked, no one had told them anything, even Arthur adamantly refused to pick up his phone, it seemed.

Was this a good thing? Well, probably. After all, that last battle had been thoroughly exhausting for all involved, and he still felt a bit off from using so much magic at once. Still, as he walked into the animal shelter for the first time in a week, the now duller autumn leaves fluttering on the wind didn't seem to make him feel like he was a love interest confessing to his Senpai. No, it just made him wish he'd worn a jacket.

It was cold, and when he walked into the back entrance that felt less familiar than it should, it was still cold. Despite that, Heracles was asleep on the floor with nothing more than a few cats covering him. Another reason that he should have brought a jacket: if he had, he could have covered his co-worker. But instead, he bent down and shook his shoulder lightly.

Brilliant green eyes flickered open at once, and after a second, Heracles assumed a sleepy smile. "Kiku," he muttered. "Um, good morning, I guess."

"Sorry to wake you," he quickly apologized. "And I am also incredibly sorry I haven't been here in so long. Things have just been…"

Okay, they'd been absolutely, perfectly, suspiciously normal, but that would be too hard to explain. Luckily, as he pushed himself up, Heracles gave a nod of understanding. "Of course, I understand. Life always continues to act despite having other plans, and it doesn't always leave time for friends. Or cats." He pet one of the ones that brushed past him as he said that last part.

Heracles then looked up, and his drooping eyes widened as he looked at Kiku before quickly looking back down and blushing. "You know, it's really fine if you don't wear that bell," he said with an awkward chuckle. "It was a silly gift, you don't have to wear it to make me feel better."

Bell? Shame, he'd almost managed to forget about the odd source of his power. The fact that he had been wearing it for the past week floated back to the forefront of his mind, and the chill of the room suddenly felt significantly warmer. "Ah, well, actually…"

How was he going to explain why he was still wearing it, exactly? Just out and say that it was the source of his magic, or lie and said he liked it? Neither really seemed right; he cared too much about Heracles to drag him into his insane existence, but also too much to lie.

So he skirted around the issue. "It- it means a lot to me," he said, and that wasn't a lie. "It was given to me by someone I care very much about because he cares very much about me. Despite how silly it may look, the emotions it carries are precious to me."

"And you mean that?", Heracles questioned, raising an eyebrow and turning a bit redder. Perhaps the cold actually was getting to him, but Kiku didn't feel anything but warmth in the room.

"Of- of course," Kiku muttered, feeling like his words weren't being taken like he'd meant. "Why would I not mean it?"

Heracles stared at him for a moment, like he was the only thing in the room of interest. "I had no idea… you felt that way…", he finally said after a moment. "I- I feel the same. I have… for a while, I suppose."

"...huh?" The way Heracles was saying it made it sound like a love confession, not a declaration of mutual friendship.

He kept going, and made him even more sure he'd messed up somehow. "Kiku, I… I don't know what to say. That bell, I got it because it made me think of you. Of how when we first met I saw you were reading Tokyo Mew Mew and we started talking about it and cats and everything. And how you're the only person I've ever met who likes cats as much as me. Or who I like as much as cats."

Kiku was absolutely positive he was burning as red as a strawberry and also that this was, in fact, a love confession. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what he saw, so simply tried to not simply die on the spot. "I- I-" He tried to stutter something out, but no words came. He just didn't know what was happening and his heart was beating like crazy and he'd never been more terrified in his life. "That- y- you- uh- I- eh- s-suki desu-?"

"Sorry, am I overdoing it?", Heracles questioned with a sheepish smile.

He couldn't even produce any words. Kiku didn't know anything anymore, and just needed to think. "E-excuse me for a moment," he quickly exclaimed, and rushed out the door and back into the cold.

Breathing heavily, he tried to think. What had just happened? Did he really like Heracles in that way? Was that really what he was trying to say?

His heart was beating too fast and his mind was spinning too wildly to think straight. He needed to talk to someone, someone else who would be able to tell him what he should do. Pulling his phone out, he scrolled through contacts. Feli? No, he was even more of a hopeless romantic than Kiku. Ludwig? He knew nothing about saying how he felt, let alone romantically. Gilbert? He had never taken anything seriously in his life, and he was sure he wouldn't start now.

The person he really needed was Yao. His older brother was the only person he could really trust with such a predicament, but he hadn't called in ages. Would he even pick up? He dialed the number, praying that he wouldn't go to voice mail.

After two agonizingly long tones, a familiar voice came from his phone. "Hello?"

Kiku let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, I was scared you wouldn't pick up."

"Is something wrong, aru?"

"You… could say that," Kiku muttered. "See, I may have accidentally told a friend I was in love with him and he may have said he likes my back."

"Huh," Yao took a second to answer. "Well, are you in love with him?"

That was a very good question, and one he didn't really know how to answer. With his heart pounding and face burning, he tried to think. "I really don't know," he admitted. "I care about him a lot, and I do feel a bit differently about him than I do anyone else, but I truly don't know how I feel right now."

"Then just don't do anything rash, aru," his brother advised. "You're probably too panicked right now to think clearly, so you should wait until the moment passes and if you find you truly do like him, then you can reassess."

A smile came to Kiku's face. Just wait for it to blow over before acting, that was a much better idea than he could have thought up with heat and adrenaline surging through him. "Thank you. I'll do that."

"Glad I could help," his brother stated. "Ah, but if you don't mind me asking, how exactly does one accidentally confess their love, aru?"

"That's a bit of a long story," Kiku admitted. However, it would be unfair not to tell it. After all, Lovino and Gilbert knew about the Nation Scout thing too. "But, well, he gave me this silly necklace- this little cat bell thing, and it turned out I was able to channel some sort of magic to transform with it into-"

"A magical warrior of a country," Yao finished almost sadly. "I already know this story, aru. I've lived it enough to be sorry you had to get involved."

His heart stopped beating hard and fast and started to struggle to find a rhythm at all. "You- you're a Nation Scout too?"

"Yes. I can summon China's power, and I've had to fight my fair share of people who would like to use that power for themselves."

"We've fought people as well," Kiku said. "But they haven't been attacking us lately. It's been nearly a week since we've fought anyone, so there's nothing to worry about."

His brother let out an audible sigh of relief. "So they've decided you aren't worth their time. That's good. Just lay low and they won't feel a need to provoke you and… wait, who else are were you talking about?"

"My friends Feliciano and Ludwig," Kiku explained. "They're Italy and Germany."

The silence from the other line lasted far too long to be normal, but it was finally broken. "G8 countries are dangerous to associate with, Kiku. I know they're your friends, but you should be careful around them."

"But… I'm also a G8 Country, right?", Kiku questioned. "I mean, I've done research, and Japan is definitely a G8-"

"Japan?", his brother repeated, the tone making it sound like a terrible thing to be. "You- you need to be careful. If you're that powerful, they'll pursue you to the ends of the earth, and if they've stopped going after you, that can only mean they're planning something. And they- they're capable of some terrible things."

"Like what?"

With an odd groan, his brother started listing names. "Li Xiao Chun, Im Yong Soo, Xiao Mei: what do they all have in common?"

"They're our cousins?" Kiku offered. "And, er, I haven't heard from any of them in years, I suppose."

"That's understandable," Yao said gravely. "Considering they were all Countries, and were all killed for that reason alone."

A pang of sorrow shone in his chest, and Kiku began to feel oddly lonely. He'd never been too close to any of them, but he supposed now he never would get to be. "I'm so sorry," that was the only thing he could think to say.

"The only thing I'm saying is that I don't want you to end up like that," his brother said, a kind smile evident in his voice. "And I promise you I won't either. So be careful. And I'll let you get back to your friend."

"Wait!", Kiku called out. He'd remembered something he was supposed to ask Yao next time they spoke. "Feliciano, he said that the other day in a dream he saw a symbol. It sounded like kanji, but I didn't recognize it, so I said I'd ask you."

"Oh? What did it look like, aru?"

He tried to remember. "Ah, it was like a ladder, almost. Three rectangles stacked on top of each other with trails as legs."

Nothing came from the other end. Only silence. After far too long, and a few questions of "Are you still there?", he looked at his phone only to see he'd been hung up on.

He would have worried, but honestly, he just felt like he should probably warn his friends about what his brother had said. He could have just sent them a text, but he couldn't bear the thought of facing Heracles at the moment. He still needed to calm down, and driving over to Feliciano's house to discuss it in person would provide him just the instance he needed.

So he quickly ducked in, told Heracles that something had come up and he'd be right back, and left without ever once laying eyes upon the person who was still making him feel so uneasy. No, that uneasiness wasn't just his, it was Yao's, and his fallen cousins'. Those were also reasons he couldn't be there right then. Those were also reasons that he left.

It wasn't far to Feliciano's house, and unsurprisingly, Ludwig was already there. If he'd been with someone, Kiku would have surely placed a bet on whether or not Feliciano would be asleep next to Ludwig when he entered, and he would have won that bet, as through the window he could see Feli jump as he rang the doorbell.

Ludwig let him in, asking "Didn't you say you had something to do today?", and he simply shook his head and sat down on a familiar chair.

"Actually, I had an interesting conversation with my brother I thought you might want to hear about," he began.

"Oh, is Yao a cool Nation guy too?", Feliciano questioned.

Kiku nodded. "It would seem so. However, that isn't the interesting part. You see-"

The annoying ringtone of Feliciano's phone interrupted him. With a glance at it, Feliciano smiled and set the phone on the table. "It's Arthur!", he explained. "Here, I'll put it on speaker."

Answering it, Feliciano sat back down and loudly greeted "Ciao! It's been ages since you've said anything, and nothing's really happened! What's been going-"

He was cut off by a very loud voice that definitely was not Arthur's. "Okay, where the hell is my brother?", yelled the voice.

"Excuse me?", Ludwig loudly questioned. "Your brother? Who is this?"

"I am Alfred F. Jones!", yelled the phone. "Brother of Arthur Kirkland and enemy of all who oppose justice! This number was the last one to call him, and the last one he talked to, so whoever you are, Mr. 'Feliciano-slash-Italy', you have to know what happened to him!"

Everyone else seemed just as stunned as Kiku was, but he tried to give some sort of response. "We haven't heard from Arthur all week. Did something happen?"

"He's been missing since Tuesday!", Alfred shouted. "Just up and left, didn't even take his phone. Whoever you are, you've got to know something, so tell me!"

Anxious glances were exchanged. Something must have happened with a fight, Kiku thought, but how were they going to tell his brother that?

Finally, Ludwig managed to say something. "Well, truthfully, we don't know what happened, but he was involved in something that could have led to it. However, he said specifically he didn't want you to get involved."

Alfred laughed. "Yeah right! There's nothing I couldn't handle, old Artie knows that! Tell me what you know, or I'll track you down and make you tell me, no matter what it takes!"

"I suppose you deserve to know if something did happen to him," Kiku stated, thinking of the list of the dead he'd been given so thoughtlessly. He didn't want this kid end up having to find his brother's name within a pile of casualties, or never even know what had occurred. "But I fear it's unsafe to tell you over phone. If you would come over here, we could try to explain it."

That was untrue. There was no reason the call would be unsafe, but Kiku somehow felt it was best to discuss it in person. If something went wrong, it would be better to not be left alone with shock and be given three semi-informed people to comfort him.

Still, Alfred seemed not to be phased. "Give me the address. I'll be right over."

* * *

 ** _AN- AHAHA! THE HERO HAS ARRIVED! Sorry, I started listening to Spear of Justice while writing Alfred's parts. It really helps, actually. Also, China. See, I said China fans would be happy, not that he'd make a physical appearance. He's off at college, which is why Kiku can only call him, and why he hasn't appeared before. Seemed to fit their emotional distance in canon better for them not to be living together. Also, very, very sorry to anyone who wanted to see Hong Kong, South Korea, or Taiwan in this story, because they died long before Chapter One. This can be said of a number of other characters you might have wanted to see. Sorry. But at least we have Giripan, right? That makes it better, right? Right? Okay, it really doesn't._**

 ** _Also, I've started posting this and other stuff on AO3. So if you're on there, you can get stuff a few days later than you would here! Cool, right? So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	16. Achromatic Revelation

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Fifteen- Achromatic Revelation_

It seemed Arthur had vanished off the face of the earth and Arthur's brother insisted upon talking to them about what had happened. Also, Kiku's brother was also a country and had said something "interesting", but Kiku didn't follow up on that. Probably because he could tell Feliciano was sort of freaking out, but maybe he just got sidetracked.

Or maybe it was just because all of them were sort of freaking out. Okay, maybe not Ludwig so much, but he wasn't really a freaking-out type of person. Feliciano was, as always, really really grateful for this, because Alfred seemed to live way too far away and they were pretty much left waiting for the rest of time for him to get there.

Honestly, it probably didn't look like they were waiting for anything. The TV was on, and Feliciano sort of watched the cartoon that it flipped onto while Kiku seemed to be playing some game on his phone. Ludwig was still annoyedly amending his planner, using a thing of white-out Feliciano had let him borrow to remove his work schedule from it.

Apparently, his manager (Feliks or something? He couldn't remember the name, but it had sounded foreign) had fired him without any good reason, saying that his help wasn't needed there any more? This was sort of confusing, given Ludwig had said he'd practically run the place and that his manager couldn't even remember to open the store by himself, but it wasn't like he was the only one who didn't get it. He didn't remember ever seeing Ludwig so confused before, to be honest.

Finally, Kiku said something to break the uncomfortable silence. "Ah, so, earlier today, I might have accidentally led Heracles to think I had a crush on him," he quietly admitted.

"Oh, 'led him to believe'?", Ludwig countered. "Well, I can't possibly see how he might think that."

"Well, he talks about him all the time and thinks he's handsome and has him in his phone as 'Heracles-kun'," Feliciano provided. "Maybe that's why he thinks-"

Ludwig sighed. "That was sarcasm, Feli."

"Does it really seem that way to you?", Kiku questioned. "Honestly, I have no idea how to feel, but if I hadn't panicked and run out, I think he was starting to tell me he liked me back."

A smile came to Feliciano's mouth. "You should go for it!", he exclaimed. "He seems like a really nice guy, and he sends you cute cat pictures. Really, I don't see what more you could want."

"Well first, you should probably apologize to him for leaving," Ludwig butted in.

Kiku blushed as he typed something into his phone. "I feel sort of bad now," he muttered. "Probably made him think I'd rejected him."

"Then apologize for making him feel rejected," Ludwig suggested.

"But that would make him think I'm not rejecting him," Kiku countered.

"Are you?"

"No clue."

"You should still apologize."

"But I really don't know!"

"What does that have to do with apologizing?"

"An awful lot, actually! What if he asks if I like him again?"

They went back and forth like that for a while, Feliciano occasionally trying to suggest something but finding that everyone else was talking way too quickly for him to get anything in. He only got to say something once the doorbell rang ten thousand times and an unfamiliar shadow was cast upon the windows by the door.

Feliciano said "Hey, he's here!" and got up to answer the door, by which time he'd begun knocking as well. He'd no sooner unlocked the thing than it was swung open by someone who really didn't look very much like Arthur. His hair was a darker blond, his eyes bright blue rather than leafy green, and he was a fair bit tanner than England.

Still, he was sure it was Alfred when he loudly, and in the same voice that had rang out of the phone a moment ago, exclaimed "Alright, the hero is here! Now what'd you wanna talk about?"

"Ah, welcome, come in!", Feliciano greeted in an attempt to be polite.

"Oh, right," Alfred chuckled, and proceeded to run into the doorframe before actually managing to step inside. "So, tell me the things!", he said as if nothing had happened.

Sitting back down, Feliciano tried to think of a place to start. However, before he could say anything, Ludwig annoyedly told the still standing beside the door Alfred "You can sit down, you know."

He did so, but sort of managed to run into a chair before actually sitting down in it. "You know, come to think of it, this is like, right by where an old friend of mine lives," Alfred remarked.

"Really?", pressed Feliciano. Honestly, given how his friends and brother had powers, and how Arthur seemed to have known Francis, it wouldn't surprise him if he knew that friend. "What's their name? I've lived here forever, I probably know them."

Alfred looked around for a second, squinting oddly. "Weird, this looks like his house too. You might not know him. He stopped talking to me out of nowhere like, two years ago, so I dunno if he moved or died or what, but his name was Lovino Vargas, I think?"

It took Feliciano a second to fully register that last part. "You mean my brother?"

"Your… brother?" Alfred looked a bit confused, but started laughing. "Wow, small world, huh? Yeah, I guess I do mean him! You really don't look much like him though. Is he here?"

"No, he is not," Ludwig stated. "But I find it a bit hard to believe you don't see any resemblance between the two."

Come to think of it, Feliciano had never heard that before. "Yeah, people usually ask if we're twins! We even both have little hair curl thingies!"

Alfred squinted. "Yeah, you do have one of those," he remarked. "Didn't see that at first. Wow, that brings me back! I remember one time I almost accidentally poked it, and, well, let's just say he totally tried to kill me with a plastic spork."

"That sounds like him," Kiku remarked. "But are you quite certain you don't need glasses? It takes a lot to miss their resemblance."

"Absolutely not!", Alfred shouted. "I do just fine without them, no matter what anyone says!"

Everyone else seemed as startled as Feliciano felt after that. Okay, maybe not as startled, as he was "startled" into pretty much jumping out of his seat, but still. Alfred, however, shrugged and started "So, what'd you want to tell me, anyways?"

They tried to explain everything as best they could. Alfred didn't say anything for once as they did so. Superpowered Nation people? Not a word. Reincarnated Superpowered Nation people? Still nothing. Even mentioning the evil ones didn't get even so much as a "hm".

And he was still quiet once they finished talking. Or at least he was until Ludwig prompted "Well?"

"Sorry, I didn't think you were done," he explained. Then, he made a weird noise that sounded like the one Kiku made whenever a new Pokemon game was announced. "Just, like, oh my god that was awesome! So this is like, really for real? Please tell me it's real. Like, but really, is this for real?"

"Yes," Kiku said flatly. "It's most certainly real. And it isn't something to be taken lightly, either. We've gotten hurt in these battles."

That was definitely true. Feliciano tried to push his sleeve up to show the scar from where Belarus had thrown a knife at him in a snowstorm the other day, exclaiming "Yeah! Fake stuff doesn't scar like this, right?"

Alfred stood up to look at the scar closer, and then let out another small squeal. "Totally for real…" he muttered. "This is all kinds of awesome! But like, why didn't Artie tell me 'bout it? He knows I love this sort of stuff."

"I would imagine that's just why he didn't tell you," Ludwig explained. "This isn't a comic book. People get hurt, people die, and this is almost certainly why your brother disappeared."

"Oh, I'm sure he's just off fighting the evil Nation Scout guys," Alfred said flippantly. "Besides, he's like, super duper powerful, right? So he'll totally be fine!"

Kiku took a deep breath. "No, he won't be 'fine'," he said. "My own cousins disappeared after finding their powers, and I didn't find out until years later they'd died. For all you know, and I truly hate to say such a thing, but he could be-"

"No way!", Alfred affirmed. "He's strong, and I'm sure he's fine. Besides, if he really was in trouble, he'd probably have like, not left his phone, right?"

Something about that didn't entirely make sense, but Feliciano hoped it was somehow true.

"You should probably go home now," Ludwig insisted. "You have another brother, right? You should probably break this news to him as gently as you can, and try to explain it to your parents as well."

Alfred stood up and cast Ludwig an annoyed look. "Our parents are literally never around, but whatever. I'll go tell Mattie how cool this all is. So like, tell me if you hear from him, okay?"

"Yeah, totally!", Feliciano called after him as he left, half thinking he saw a flash of green enter the house as Alfred exited it.

Not a second after the door closed did Ludwig say "Well, I can see why Arthur didn't want him to get involved."

"His enthusiasm is a bit overwhelming," Kiku sighed. "And he doesn't understand it in the slightest."

"Oh, but he seemed nice!", Feliciano countered.

"Nice, perhaps, but he doesn't take anything seriously," Ludwig remarked. "There's no way he could be involved with this, right?"

Kiku nodded in agreement. "Most certainly not. And unless we find something out about his brother, we need to keep it that way."

"Yeah, Arthur said he didn't want to involve him," Feliciano agreed.

"So we're all in agreement," Ludwig stated. "Very good. Now, Kiku, what were you saying about your cousins?"

Frowning, Kiku flipped his phone back out. "Well, that's what Yao was telling me. A few of my cousins: Li Xiao Chun, Im Yong Soo, and Xiao Mei, they were Nation Scouts as well and apparently died as a result of it."

"Wait, I know them!", another voice exclaimed.

Flying Mint Bunny shot out behind the couch. Ludwig rubbed his eyes, doing a double take before muttering "So it does exist…"

"You bet I do!", Flying Mint Bunny declared. "But those people you were talking about, uh, they were Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan! Didn't really know the last two, but Hong Kong, I totally knew him!"

"You did?", Kiku questioned. "Do you know how he died?"

Gulping, Flying Mint Bunny nodded. "Uh, yeah, actually. And I'm really, really super sorry about that, because I was the one who found him and told him he had powers, so it's sort of my fault…"

"That doesn't make it your fault," Kiku assured him. "You told him what he was, and I'm sure you did the best you could to guide him."

"Yeah, but, well," Flying Mint Bunny gave an odd cough and then seemed to regain a bit of its enthusiasm. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, he was actually totally awesome! He had some really cool explosion powers, and he was a like, rogue Country on the run from both the bad guys and everyone else, and he was partners with Iceland! And that's actually super cool, because Iceland's power was like, super cool too, no pun intended. He could like, see the future, and see where enemies were gonna attack, and he had this signal thing with Hong Kong. I think it was based on the Chinese character for eye, but Iceland always had this like, weird thing that looked like a square without the bottom line on one hand, and with the other he would drag two fingers across and flick them to indicate where Hong Kong needed to strike! And then the enemy would almost always be where Hong Kong set the explosion, and it would be super cool! But yeah, they both sort of got captured and killed."

Kiku gave an odd chuckle. "Seems you're very familiar with their fighting style- wait, that symbol you mentioned, you said it meant 'eye'?"

"Yeah, I think so, but-"

Whatever it was going to say next was lost in the clicking of the keyboard in Kiku's phone. He then seemed to pull something up and held it out. It was a picture of a kanji character that looked like 目.

Feliciano recognized the symbol instantly. "Hey, that's the one from my dream!"

"Oh yeah, I think that was the thing you showed me," Flying Mint Bunny remarked, giving an odd chuckle. "Can't believe I didn't catch that at first!"

"So we know what it is, but why would he be dreaming of the signal used by Iceland and Hong Kong?", Ludwig questioned.

Yeah, why would he dream of that? Feliciano started to ask it out loud himself, but Flying Mint Bunny cut him off. "Dreams are weird like that, you know? Well, anyways, that's not why I'm here."

"Why are you here, then?", Kiku questioned.

Flying Mint Bunny took a perch on the coffee table, and Feliciano could see it was holding a rather beat up scrap of paper. "Well, I guess you've noticed by now England's gone missing; can't imagine why you'd contact his brother otherwise. So, I was looking for him, and I came across this cool old photograph of the G8. Or well, you know, the old G8. Wanna see?"

It flipped the paper over, and the three of them gathered around to look. Feliciano's breath caught in his throat as he saw it.

Despite being a very faded achromatic piece, and despite having absolutely no memory of the photograph being taken, Feliciano could recognize every single figure in the picture. Someone who looked exactly like himself, down to the squinting eyes and hair curl was standing behind a seated man who looked exactly like Ludwig, even replicating the inability to smile for pictures. A person who looked uncannily like Kiku was behind them, doing a V-sign and standing beside a half-cut off Yao. Arthur was there too, giving a sideways smirk and seemingly with his arm around a torn off figure to his left.

However, most startling of all wasn't Russia, who both looked exactly as he had when attacking him and was standing a bit uncomfortably close to his picture-self. No, that would be the person seated in front of picture-Arthur: the exact image of Alfred.

* * *

 ** _AN- Aaaand cut. Yes, Iceland is dead, and yes, I am sorry. To Amethyst specifically, I am sorry. This is why I couldn't use your idea for him. Because he was dead. I actually meant to only get to Iceland and Hong Kong's part of the backstory later, but since everyone wanted to know what 目 meant, or knew what it meant and didn't get why I was using the symbol for eye, I figured I should hurry up and explain it. Sounds like a weird little thing, but it seemed like a bit of an act they might put on to emphasise their rogue-ness. Don't worry, it gets better explained later. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	17. Fairy Blue

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Sixteen- Fairy Blue_

"Hey, Mattie!"

Alfred's twin looked up as he entered the room. "Oh, there you are," Matthew said. "Where did you run off to, anyways?"

"I told you, I had to go talk to some guys about Artie, 'member?"

"Eh? Is that what you meant?" his brother questioned. "All you said was that you needed to go find something out, so I figured you were just going to google something, but then you drove off."

Sitting down next to Matthew, Alfred shook his head. "No, it was important stuff, and I know where he is now, sort of, or at least what he's doing."

"Really?", Matthew said, tilting his head. "Have you heard from him? Is he alright? What's going on? When will he be back?"

"Well, I didn't hear from him, but some friends of him talked to me about it. No idea when he'll be back, but I'm sure he's fine."

Looking away, Matthew sighed. "Thank god, I was starting to worry. But… where is he? And why is he not here?"

"Well, that's a long and complicated story," Alfred admitted. "But it's a totally awesome one, so I'm happy to tell it!"

His twin gave him one of those weird looks, like the ones he gave whenever he said something that he didn't mean to be funny but Arthur would laugh at it anyways. "Um… okay?"

"So, there are these super cool superhero guys who are like, the spirits of countries. Like, you know, America and Japan and England and Canadia and stuff."

"-you mean Canada?", his brother muttered.

"Yeah, that. So, superheroes, and like, they all got killed in some sort of super epic battle or something, I don't really know the specifics. And then they got reincarnated into humans, who discover their super cool powers and use them to fight other reincarnated countries who are evil and stuff! Cool, right?"

It took Matthew like, way too long to react properly, but once he did, it was a simple, strained chuckle. "Ehe, this isn't really the time to be telling me about some new comic, you know."

"Nonono, let me finish!", Alfred exclaimed. "So, like, Arthur is totally one of them! Like, he's England or something and those friends of his I was talking to are like, Italy and Japan and like, Germany, I think? I dunno, he might have been something else, but he yells a lot and I'm pretty sure he's gay for Italy, who's like, Lovi's little brother? Remember him? Crazy right? But he's not as hot as him, but he seems like a cool guy. And Japan… well, I think his name was Kiku? Apparently, they all have cool powers and stuff but they wouldn't show me 'cause they can't waste their energy on non-awesome thing or something. So basically, Artie's probably off fighting evil or something and he'll probably be home soon, 'cause apparently he's like super strong and stuff so no need to worry, okay?"

Matthew simply blinked at a blank patch on the wall for a moment, before turning to his twin and giving an annoyed huff. "This isn't funny! Arthur's missing, and you're acting like it's the plot of some anime!"

"Anime is real, Mattie!", Alfred insisted. "This is what those guys told me! This is all real!"

"Look, those guys are probably just jerks who were playing a trick on you or something," Matthew insisted. "There is no way something like that could possibly be real. I know it's nice to think you have something to blame, but really, do you think it's possible that something else happened to Ar-"

He was interrupted by the buzzing of Arthur's phone. Alfred pulled it out and found that it was signalling a text from… he squinted to see the text and turned the brightness up a bit. Feliciano/Italy?

"FMB showed us a cool thing. It's a pic of us all back when we were actual countries and not just reincarnation things," Alfred read off to his brother, adding a "Ha, told you it was real" for good measure. "It's actually really freaky!"

"What is a FMB?", questioned Matthew, and Alfred realized he also had no idea. So he texted that question back.

It took a second for a response to come. "It stands for Flying Mint Bunny. It is an invisible green rabbit that tells us things about us and our powers. I do not know how it knows these things it knows."

A second later, he added "Okay, it just said that it knows them because it's magic and has been around for a while and it's its job to know things. Or something like that. Um, line, slash, underscore- wait, no, that's an emoticon."

"This has to be a joke," Matthew stated. "And it's really not funny. Please, Alfred, just listen to me! If something's happened to Arthur, we need to be trying to find out what it is, or at very least contact the police, not making up insane stories!"

Something in Alfred's heart sank. "I wouldn't make something up like this!", he insisted. "Why would I ever make something like this up? I just wanted to tell you that wherever Arthur is, he can take care of himself so we don't need to worry!"

Matthew cringed. "I-I'm sorry!", he quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to insult you or accuse you of not caring- I really am sorry!"

"It's fine, bro," Alfred assured him, and the phone buzzed again. This time, it was a photograph of what looked like a really torn up old photograph. So, basically a picture of a picture, and probably the one Italy had mentioned before. He zoomed in and squinted, and let out a gasp as he saw someone who looked pretty much exactly like Arthur, but in old-timey clothes. "See, what did I tell you!", he exclaimed, shoving it in his twin's face. "Reincarnation things!"

Eyes widening, Matthew muttered "No, this can't be- Alfred, how are we in this picture?"

"Are we?", Alfred questioned, looking back at it. There was a figure seated in front of Arthur, wearing some weird jacket, glasses, and giving a thumbs up along with a broad smile. His heart caught in his throat- that person was definately himself.

"Wait, but I- I'm magic too?", he cried. If learning about all this stuff being real had seemed like the pinnacle of his life, then this was flying off the pinnacle into the stratosphere like a majestic eagle. It sort of made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and he was really freaked out and amazed at the same time.

Laughter was all that would come out of his mouth, but his brother still seemed to be a bit shaken up over the whole thing. "How am I there too, though? I didn't even know any of this- this doesn't make any sense!"

"You're in here? Where?", Alfred questioned, trying to focus on something other than how incredible the moment was. He scanned the picture, seeing really nothing that looked like Matthew. "Uh, seriously, where are you? Are you the guy standing next to Artie who has like, most of his body except for his arm cut off?"

Matthew grabbed the phone for a second and zoomed in on a table in the dead center of it. Alfred stared at it, wondering sincerely why he was supposed to be staring at a table before realizing that someone who looked pretty much identical to his twin was sitting on it, arms and legs politely crossed. "Oh, yeah. There you are."

"I- um, need to go to my room for a second…", Matthew muttered, giving him the phone back and standing up. "Curl up on the bed and think deeply about life…"

"Have fun!", he called after his brother as he walked away.

Alfred started to text Italy back and express his sheer joy at having proof that he, in fact, was also an awesome country superhero, but got a bit lost in thought on the way. What country even could he be? He hoped he was somewhere awesome, like Engl- wait, Arthur was already England. Maybe he was like, Russia or Greece or somewhere cool like that? Or, he supposed, he could be Canadia, since he was born there. But… he really wasn't very Canadian. Mattie was rather Canadian, so he was probably Canada.

He continued on this train of thought for a little while until the phone started ringing. It wasn't any number he recognized, but he answered it, thinking that if it was a wrong number he could enact some epic counter prank calling procedure or something.

However, before he could think of something clever to say, a trembling, familiar voice answered. "Ah, hello. I don't know who has this phone, but whoever it is, I have an urgent message for you to pass on. See, in the contact list of this phone, there should be someone named Feliciano. I need you to pass on a message to him, please."

"Okay, bro, I'll pass it on," Alfred said. "And are you okay, Artie? You sound sorta freaked out."

It took a second for Arthur to answer, but when he did, he sounded even more frazzled than before. "Alfred? Oh god, how did you get my phone?"

"You left it on the counter after yelling at me about remembering to wear the glasses that I totally don't need," Alfred explained. "Anyways, where are you? Off fighting evil country guys?"

Even more silence followed, so he had to prompt "Uh, Artie?"

"How- how do you even know about that?", he questioned in a breathless whisper. "Who told you?"

"Your friends told me 'cause I was getting worried and I called that Feliciano guy up to ask if he knew what happened to you," he said. "They explained everything to me- oh, and Mattie and I are totally cool Country things too!"

"What?", Arthur barked into the phone, somewhere between a whisper and a yell.

"Okay, like, I don't know how to use my powers, but they sent me a picture of an old photograph of all of us in our previous lives or whatever and this guy who looked exactly like you was in it and so were guys that looked just like me and Mattie."

More silence, and then a sigh. "I- I didn't want to involve you," his brother muttered. "Please, just stay out of trouble!"

"No problem! Just tell me where you are and I can come help you stay out of trouble yourself!"

"I- I think it's a bit too late for that," Arthur practically whispered. "Ah, you see, that's the reason behind my call- and I wouldn't be saying that if I didn't think I had another choice, but you're the most stubborn person I've ever met and even if I just told you to read off another number for me to call, you'd still find a way to involve yourself."

It felt like cold water had began to run through his body as he registered how defeated his brother sounded. Something was wrong. "What- what happened?"

"Ah well, about fighting 'evil countries'..." Arthur gave a humorless laugh. "I believe I bit off a tad more than I could chew, and I ended up getting captured."

"You what?" The words sounded incomprehensible. "But- you're like, really powerful, right? And I mean, you're the hero! Heroes don't-"

Another deep sigh. "Alfred, I am not the 'hero'. I am a man who just wants to live as normally as he can with the powers he's been given," he insisted. "And even if I'm strong, I was overpowered. I'm far from the strongest, and I should have realized that before being willing to take someone like that on."

"Someone like who?", Alfred pressed.

"Well, another Country, and that's about all I know," Arthur stated. "Anyways, I'm being detained in some cell somewhere in some bace. No clue where, but I'll try to find out and let you know. Managed to swipe a phone off one of the guards, but I'm still afraid I'll be overheard. It's… well, extremely boring. I have a pack of chalk and no magic, so I basically just have to entertain myself with escape plans."

Everything hit Alfred like a ton of bricks. His brother was in need of a hero, and he had the power to be just that. "I'll get you out of there," he vowed. "Don't worry, okay?"

Suddenly, a distant gasp came from the other side of the phone, and he was sure he could hear crying. "Alfred, I am so sorry," his brother said softly. "I- I never wanted you to get caught up in this. I-It's dangerous. People die like this, and I don't want you to be one of them."

Things must have been really bad. He hadn't heard Arthur cry since… well, since all that business with Francis a while back. "I won't," he promised. "And I'm really sorry I yelled at you last time I saw you before you got captured. I- I probably need glasses, alright? I'll wear them if it makes you feel better."

"Yes, it would make me feel better to know you aren't wandering around, trying to save me half blind!", Arthur half-laughed. "And please, tell Matthew I'm alright, won't you?"

"Yeah, sure," Alfred agreed. "Actually, he's just in the other room. You can talk to him yourself if you wa-"

A sudden gasp came from the other side of the phone, and then dead silence. Arthur had hung up, or something else had happened. Either way, he didn't like how that ended.

Whatever had happened, he supposed he should probably pass on Arthur's message to his twin, even if he wasn't sure it was true anymore. But first, he got up and went over to the counter. His glasses were sitting there, and Alfred wiped them off before putting them on. Even if he didn't like how he looked with them on, he saw a lot better with them on, and contacts drove him crazy.

His home came back into focus, and he realized how much he really did need them. Things actually had texture and edges! And there was a green flying rabbit floating in front of him- wait, what?

"What the- who are you?", he questioned the thing. "And where did you come from?"

"That's a long story, but I'm Flying Mint Bunny! Nice to meet you!", greeted the distinctly British-sounding rabbit, holding a paw out for him to shake. Alfred took it uneasily, unsure whether this thing was awesome or terrifying. "Italy sent me over here to make sure you understood how everything worked. I wasn't sure how I would be able to do that, since you couldn't see me before, but I guess you can now."

"B-before? Before what?"

The rabbit shrugged- how did rabbits shrug? "Oh, I've been living here for the past several months! You just haven't had powers until now, so you haven't been able to see me."

"Then how did I just get powers?", Alfred questioned. "I mean, I just put on my glasses and poof- you were there."

"Well, it's possible it was the glasses," Flying Mint Bunny explained. "I overheard you talking to Arthur, and it seems like you two had a falling out over them, so you wearing them again symbolizes the strengthening of your bonds, right?"

"...what?"

Flying Mint Bunny sighed. "Okay, I have a lot to explain to you. Might want to sit down for this."

* * *

 ** _AN- So sorry I'm so late with this one! I just wasn't feeling well last night, so I couldn't finish it. But, here it is! And I'll try to make the next update early to make up for it. Anyways, THE HERO HAS AWAKENED! And also, England is sort of in a tight spot, but what are our heroes for if not to help? Well, probably to completely freak out and retreat into a ball while hugging a teddy bear, like Canadia- I mean Canada did. But either way, Texas is a Transformation Trinket and that is a sentence that could not exist out of a Hetalia Magical Girl AU. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**

 ** _PS, not sure if it'll be next chapter or the next, but pretty soon, there will be a bonus chapter. And it will be about Lithuania. Because he is a precious cinnamon roll who needs more screen time that doesn't involve Belarus being mean to him or our heroes beating him up._**

 ** _Also PS, yes the title is a Soul Eater reference. It was either that or "Heroic Red", and Doitsu knows we've had enough chapter titles with the color red in it so far. That's because I've been trying to limit it to the colors, or at least shades similar to the colors on that chapter's POV character's flag, and literally every POV character so far has had red on their flag._**


	18. P1- Exit Wounds

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter One- Exit Wounds_

The all too familiar light of the teleporter faded, revealing a place that looked far too familiar. Toris (no, he'd lost the right to a human name long ago) had been to this town enough times in his life to recognize it on sight- he'd grown up not too far from there, after all. It was mid fall, late afternoon, and the familiar feel of it was almost enough to make him feel human again.

Well, almost enough, but then he remembered the thing he'd been sent there to do. He'd been ordered to attempt to activate the powers of one of the many suspected Nations, which they had been unable to provoke otherwise despite some evidence he wasn't even going to pretend to understand leading them to believe it to be so. Most likely reasoning was that the subject lacked a Catalyst- an item that they could manifest emotion from to transform.

Normally, when trying to get someone to transform, it took a while. Building friendships, or convincing someone else to give them something, but for this particular subject, they had a bit of a shortcut. Which is why he felt like a complete piece of trash: he hadn't been able to even speak to Feliks in years, and yet he was meant to reconnect with him just to provide a reason for his "employers" to exploit him for surveillance purposes.

There was a scrap of paper in his hand, reading out the address he needed to go to. The street name was familiar for some reason- maybe he'd had to find it before?- but he still had to ask someone for directions. He acted lost, trying to play up the odd accent his voice had taken up since he became Lithuania, and a young woman gladly told him that he was only a few blocks away.

As he got closer to the street, he started to doubt the information. The area was filled almost exclusively with strange little shops, without a single house in sight. A memory came back to him, of being dragged to some obscure clothing store by an enthusiastic Feliks, and he started to remember maybe why the street seemed so familiar to him.

His eyes passed by a window, and he caught sight of a bracelet that looked almost shockingly like the one that was used as his own Catalyst. Taking the small metal pin he'd been given to act as Feliks' Catalyst, he felt the urge to at least look like he was being genuine, and walked into the shop. At very least, he supposed, he could give his friend a gift he might actually like rather than a standard thing that was simply meant to be practical in battle.

A long time ago, he would have come in here, embarrassed that he'd be seen buying something so gaudy and pink. Now, he really didn't care what the three people actually in there thought of him. He just wished the lady punching numbers into a calculator to find the sales tax would hurry up, because he just wanted this mission to be over quickly. For good measure, he asked her to put it in a gift box, but instantly regretted it, as it just gave him more time to think about how he was basically purchasing a trap for someone he'd once called his very best friend.

After that, it only took a moment more to arrive at the address, which to his surprise, was a convenience store. Just like the kind they'd used to go into and pick up a soda or candy while Feliks would chuckle at the allegedly hideous uniforms the workers wore. Was he working here now? It was almost amusing to picture his friend working at such a place, but he couldn't bring himself to chuckle.

He sort of felt like he was going to pass out as he went into the store, and he wasn't sure if he was relieved or not when the only person in sight was not actually the one he was looking for. Instead, it was a man with spiky blond hair and an indifferent glare.

Praying it wouldn't take too long, Toris stepped up to the counter and cleared his throat. "Um, excuse me, would you happen to know if Feliks Lukasiewicz is around?"

The man sighed and said "Unfortunately, yes," before briskly walking to a door labeled "Employees Only" by a taped-on piece of copy paper. He yelled "Your break is over! Someone is here to see you!", and after a second a faint and familiar voice called back.

"Whatever! Just, like, let me finish this game first, m'kay?"

His heart stopped, and Toris was quite certain he couldn't really take any longer. Therefore, he was quite grateful when the man yelled back "You said that ten minutes ago! Come out here or I'll dock your pay!"

Feliks appeared from the door a few seconds later, looking rather annoyed. Over the pounding in his chest, Toris noted that he was not wearing a uniform of any sort, which didn't surprise him in the slightest. "You can't dock my pay, I'm, like, in charge of you!", he countered. "But fine, you made me mess up, so-"

His friend's eyes landed on him, and nothing more was said. They both pretty much stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Feliks finally smiled and came towards him with a hug. "Oh my god, Toris? What are you doing here?"

"I was… in the neighborhood…" he choked out. "A-and I heard you worked here, so I thought I'd say hello."

Glancing over Feliks' shoulder, he saw the other worker looking at the two in confusion. "Um, do you want to maybe talk outside?", he hastily offered, fearing that he'd be found suspicious if he said anything more around a civilian.

Feliks took his hand and led him towards a back door. "Okay, I'm taking another break!", he called back to his coworker.

The place that door led to was almost creepy. It was all just ancient asphalt, eroded by cracks and weeds and dust. A faded rectangle indicated a dumpster was supposed to be there, but it seemed oddly absent. What a perfect place to be a terrible person.

"It's great to see you and everything, don't get me wrong, but, like, why are you here, really?", Feliks questioned, wasting absolutely no time in cutting to the chase. "And not trying to be nosy or anything, but where have you been? You totally dropped off the face of the earth! No one's heard anything from you in years! Did something happen?"

There was a very lengthy answer to all of those questions, but now wasn't the time to explain that. "Well, um, something came up with my family," he said, and it wasn't even a lie. "Some of my cousins, er, Eduard and Raivis and, well-"

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Feliks interrupted, much to his delight. "But I really have missed you. You couldn't have just called or something? Just to tell me you weren't dead?"

Guilt crawled down his spine. He really couldn't have. Any contact at all would have let everyone know that Feliks was a perfect hostage to use if he ever stepped out of line. "I never meant to abandon you," he promised. "Ah, I saw this and I thought you might like it."

He offered up the little box from the shop, and Feliks smiled slightly as he opened it. "This totally clashes with like, ninety percent of what I own, but thank you."

Wait, he actually noticed how much bracelets like that clashed with things? He wasn't sure if that was shocking or not, really, but it made him question why he'd even ended up with his Catalyst in the first place. "Um, welcome…", he muttered as Feliks slipped it on despite that.

Looking down, he remembered what he had to do now. Basically, he just had to catch Feliks off guard and knock him out so he could be teleported out without resistance. Meaning, he had to attack his best friend when his back was turned.

For a second, he contemplated just forgetting about the mission and continuing to see Feliks smile like that, to make up for all the ones he'd missed out on for all these years. But then he remembered how Belarus had been put to death for failing a mission, and how his own performance had been less than stellar recently. Estonia could be punished for such a mutiny as well, and no matter how wrong it was to betray his best friend, the only other option was throwing his life away.

"Really, what's wrong?", Feliks pressed, that smile evaporating. "You look like you're gonna cry."

And then, he decided that if he couldn't simply stab him in the back, the very least he could do was be honest. "I am so sorry," he apologized. "I am a terrible person in every conceivable way."

"Look, so you left without saying goodbye and show up here out of the blue, big deal! What matters now is that you're here now, right?"

"That's not what I mean," Lithuania said, and he let that burning power inside of him eat him up once more. White light faded away, and he pulled the crossbow out of the air. "I- I'm not here to chat, alright? I'm working for someone who wants to recruit you, and I'm meant to bring you to them. I am so, so sorry that I have to do this, but please, transform yourself so I don't have to fight someone without giving them a fair shot!"

Feliks laughed for a second, but then stepped towards him and took his wrist. "You're still wearing that old bracelet I gave you?", he questioned, as if that were more important than anything else going on at the moment.

"That's how these powers work," he hastily explained, drawing his hand away. "The emotions an object carries are used as a Catalyst to access our powers."

"Is that why you gave me this? So I could use powers to help this person you're working for?", Feliks questioned, and he gave a shaky nod back. "Who is this person? What did they do to you?"

He couldn't answer. Honestly, he didn't even know himself, but he knew the people that worked under whoever it was, and they were terrifying enough to keep his lips shut. "Toris, please! Whoever this person is, if they ever try to hurt you again or force you to do anything, I will make them regret it!"

Tears started to roll down Lithuania's cheeks. "No, you'd be up against something unbelievably powerful. There isn't any way to save me, so please, just give me a reason to fight you!"

His friend took a step back and shook his head. "I don't think you will," Feliks countered. "You aren't the type, you never were."

That was wrong, but at the same time, completely correct. He'd never hurt anyone if he didn't know there wasn't another way, after all. So, he shot an arrow, aiming a few feet away from his friend's head to correct the claim.

Feliks let out a gasp, and a flash of light enveloped him. Toris felt his heart stop- he'd been so hoping this had just been a mistake and he wouldn't actually have any kind of power. Once it cleared, though, he was startled by how much Feliks looked like he belonged in that terrible life. Militaristic outfit, an aura of power; he'd seen it all before. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd known him all his life, he'd look exactly like any other person he had to fight beside or against.

"This could work," Feliks muttered. "I like the cape, at least. But, like, why does it change our clothing, though?"

That was what he was questioning? Lithuania came very close to smiling at how very little his friend had changed. Still, they were both stalling and they knew it. His enemy produced a charge of flames in one hand, and looked at them, seemingly entranced by how he could produce such a thing. It seemed he was going to ask another question, but he didn't want to hear it.

Draw it back, pull the trigger, and an arrow was sent flying towards the person he was fighting, who responded oddly quickly. A burst of flame made his arrow dissolve. He knew he missed with the next one, but that was just because it was hard to look where he was aiming.

"If you're going to fight me, can you at least look at me?", his enemy demanded. It was the least Lithuania could do to oblige, so he fired another shot.

A crack filled the air, and a crimson gash appeared on Feliks' cheek. He was a bad shot either way, he supposed; he'd been aiming for his shoulder, but the fact that he'd fired upon someone he loved filled him like a wave. The wound healed freakishly quickly, to the point where it made him certain that healing rather than fire was his friend's power, but the fact it had happened still remained.

"I am so sorry," he said, but the words were hollow and meaningless. There was no way he could go through with this, but there was no way he could back out. "I- I don't-"

Feliks simply smiled as the power coursing about him disappeared in a bright flash. "Told you so," he remarked, almost mockingly. "I knew you couldn't go through with this."

"Why are you-" He couldn't fight his friend now, not if he'd already stepped down.

Taking a few steps forward, Feliks shook his head. "You disarmed yourself, idiot," he pointed out, and Toris found that he was holding onto air. Odd, he hadn't noticed his weapon vanish, but it did seem to comply to the wishes of its wielder. "Look, I don't care if we're up against the entire world, because I'm not going to let anyone make you do anything, got it? And if anyone says otherwise, I'll make them regret it."

Before he could even register what was happening, Toris found himself wrapped in a tight hug. He was smiling like he hadn't in years, and it felt like some great weight had vanished. "You don't have to do this," he half protested. "This isn't your problem. I'll face whatever I have to, I can-"

"You're my problem," Feliks corrected. "So shut up and let me hug you. It's been like, four years, and I think it's high time you stop doing some loser's dirty work, got it?"

"Okay," he agreed. As much as he didn't want to get Feliks involved, he finally felt alive- no, felt human again, and he didn't want to let that go. Whatever would become of this, Toris felt almost hopeful that he could face, because they'd face it together.

And then a sharp pain entered his side, and exited on the other. Everything fell away, reminding him that no, he couldn't just leave. That thing he'd been trapped in was too strong to escape, even in death. Black covered his vision as he collapsed.

* * *

 ** _AN- Ha, you thought I was going to give them a happy ending? Lol, no. I don't care how much I like these two, I refuse to let them go all rebel and be happy together. So instead, let's end with Liet being attacked and blacking out and leave it there for a little while. This is a side story, after all, and I doubt we'll find out what became of this for a while. (Just a side note, I'd originally planned for the other convenience store worker to be Germany, but I realized he'd probably have recognized Liet, so I changed it to someone else. Poland is still the terrible boss Germany talked about, though, which is why he was meant to be surveillance in the first place: to keep tabs on the Doitsu.) So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**

 _PS, this is the Joltik of the Future speaking. I've decided to change these chapters to be called Parallel instead of Bonus chapters, because they occur parallel to the main story. Also, Bonus Chapter better describes another type of chapter._


	19. White Ceiling

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Seventeen- White Ceiling_

"Oh, hello ceiling, you're the same as always, aren't you?"

Matthew didn't say this out loud. That would have been weird, and honestly, he prefered the dead silence to noise at the moment, even above the sounds of his own voice echoing in his ears. But still, he was having a silent conversation with the boring off white void above him.

"You are the same exact ceiling that has been above my bed for what, fifteen years?"

It did not answer. He hugged Kumajiro closer to his chest. He'd had him for longer than he could even remember, and the faded white teddy bear still managed to provide him a familiar comfort.

"So much changes, but little tiny things stay the same, right? Like the ceiling's still the same exact white, even though everything else is completely insane. And there's still that weird little stain that Alfred refuses to tell me the origin of. Seriously, how does purple get on the ceiling? He still won't tell me, you know. Do you even know how that happened, Mister Ceiling?"

It did not answer. Apparently, with as much crazy that had happened in the past little while, the unspoken law that ceilings did not talk back remained intact.

"Really, though, if me from a year ago came in here, all he'd notice is that I moved that table and put a few new posters up. Heck, me from an hour ago wouldn't even know the difference. What… what even happened?"

It did not answer. There weren't really answers besides how Alfred had so eloquently put it, anime being real. Something something Countries, something something Superheroes, and then that freaky picture.

Matthew flipped onto his side, now staring at the wall beside his bed. How did any of this make sense? Everything his twin had told him sounded so utterly ridiculous, and yet Arthur was likely in danger from this insane scenario. They were reincarnated spirits of Countries. Like, actual countries. Those words did not make sense in that order!

But why him, though? Why, of all people, would Matthew Jones-Williams be the person who happened to be some sort of magic superhero? He could kind of get why Alfred would be one. His twin loved comic books and cartoons so much, and always had said he wanted to do something great in life, so this was basically all he'd ever dreamed of. Even Arthur, who had always loved magic and been determined to make some sort of mark upon the world was understandable. But him? He was no one, and didn't want to be extraordinary. He just wanted to live a boring life with a happy family and was pretty much just content with that.

He closed his eyes. His head hurt, and maybe if he went to sleep he'd wake up in a universe that made sense or something.

However, as so many of his attempts to nap were, he was soon called out of whatever sleepy haze he'd managed by Alfred. "Matthew! I need to talk to you about things!"

Matthew was totally prepared to brush him aside and beg him to just let him sleep and pretend that the world wasn't a giant ball of nonsequiters. But then he registered that his twin called him by his actual name rather than "Mattie" or some equally painful derivative of that. That alone told him that there was cause to worry.

"I'm listening."

"Okay, so Arthur just called, and, well, you know how I told you about the bad guy countries?"

He really didn't like where this was going, but he nodded. Wait… bad guy countries? "Uh, wait, no, actually, you didn't mention that."

"Well, they're things," Alfred eloquently explained. "And they like, captured Artie, and he's like, in some cell somewhere in one of their bases."

That sounded bad. That sounded really, really bad. "Oh my god, is he okay?"

"Well, for the most part, I guess," Alfred said with a shrug. "Said he was bored, but then the call cut off really suddenly, so I'm sorta worried."

"You should be!", Matthew practically yelled back. It was a quiet yell, sure, but it counted. "He's our brother, and he's been captured by- by- well, whatever they are!

Without warning, Alfred, while fixated upon a bit of absolutely nothing hovering above their heads, said "Come on! You're like, a thing that knows things, right? So what are they?"

Matthew was too stunned to say words. However, his brother seemed to respond to absolutely nothing rather enthusiastically. "Oh come on! I thought you said you knew things!"

"What in the name of sanity are you talking to?", Matthew questioned, giving an exasperated, airy laugh.

"Flying Mint Bunny," Alfred stated matter-of-factly, gesturing to absolutely nothing. "He's right there! You can see him, right?"

Okay, now he was sure this was some sort of elaborate prank, mass hallucination and/or fever dream. "No," he admitted. "You're just talking to nothing, Alfred."

His twin looked a bit shocked, glanced at the same patch of nothing, and then shrugged. "Okay, so you don't have magic yet. But can you not hear Flying Mint Bunny either?"

"N-no…"

Glancing at nothing again, Alfred nodded. "Okay, then. It said-" He assumed a rather high, rather terrible British accent. "'Well, that's just sort of a thing that happens! My magic isn't perceivable by mortals or Nations that haven't powered up yet, but give it time! He'll get his powers eventually!'"

Despite everything, Matthew couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you not like my Flying Mint Bunny voice, Mattie?", Alfred inquired in the same voice, continuing to crack both of them up. However, he cast another glance at the patch of nothing and gave an annoyed huff. "Fine. I'll stop. Are you taking over Artie's role as Supreme Buzz Killer?"

"Don't say things like that!", Matthew quickly berated. "Not now!"

Alfred shrugged. "Oh, whatever. But, like, speaking of that, what should we do? Go after him?"

"Well, could we?", Matthew questioned. "I mean, whoever it is that has him, they're powerful, right?"

Looking at absolutely nothing, Alfred assumed a more subdued version of the voice that was still impossible to take seriously. "'Yeah! Super powerful! And besides, they have several different bases, so even if you went after them, you wouldn't know where to go!'"

In a manner that truly made it seem like he was arguing with himself, Alfred countered "Well, do you know where they are? If so, we should just check all of them until we find him, right?"

"You're saying we should check every individual dangerous base, hoping we just happen to stumble across Arthur? That sounds like like a bad idea," Matthew said.

"'Yeah, I know where some of them are, but I agree with your brother,'" Alfred said in his Flying Mint Bunny voice. " 'For one, even if you and the other three G8 on our side all went together- heck, even if Canada unlocked his power-'" Alfred broke character for a moment to explain "That's you, by the way. 'No, even if we had a whole bunch of Countries on our side, if we went into that many dangerous places, there isn't any way everyone would make it out okay! Plus, the bases are like, all over the place! Some of them aren't even in this country, and if we just went around aimlessly, we'd be wasting time in which Arthur could be killed! Or worse!'"

How was it that his brother doing a silly voice for an invisible magic rabbit was sending nervous shudders through his body? No, really, how did he get to a point in his life where that was an actual thing that happened? Because it was happening, and making him grab for Kumajiro again. "Let's not do that, then?", he suggested.

"Okay, but we can't just do nothing!", Alfred countered. "So, what do we do?"

He seemed to be asking the, erm, invisible rabbit more than him, so Alfred answered himself after a moment in a silly voice. "'Well, why don't you get Arthur to tell you some stuff about where he is? I've been in a few of those places, maybe I'll recognize some description.'"

"What, do I text him and ask him to describe things so you can tell where he is?", Alfred questioned, seemingly sarcastically. After a moment, he turned to Matthew, and in a normal voice, reported "Yes. Apparently that is what we do."

And so Alfred texted the number Arthur had called from with pretty much just that question, along with an "oh and Mattie says hi ;)", and they waited for a response.

After it had been what felt like way too long, Alfred called the number again, but received no response. In fact, it went straight to voicemail. It did this the next several times he called, to the point where they basically gave up and decided to try to watch television and forget that their brother was in mortal danger and not answering his phone.

They ate dinner before Arthur responded. They finished the season of the show they'd been watching before Arthur responded. Heck, they'd decided it was too freaking late before Arthur responded and Matthew continued to ponder the meaning of all the insanity he called his life until sleep finally claimed him.

However, at an hour that felt like way too early to be woken up on a Saturday- okay, more like nine, but still- Alfred woke him up by pretty much yelling in his ear. Before Matthew could even register what was going on, he was looking at a phone screen, which his twin scrolled between a few blurry photos and some text.

 _Arthur: Took forever to get that guard off my back. He's gone now._

A picture of what looked like a jail cell was below it, which had walls covered in what looked like Elvish script and a drawing of a unicorn.

 _Arthur: This is my cell. Does it help?_

 _Alfred: lol nice pony. FMB says no._

 _Arthur: What?_

 _Alfred: flying mint bunny_

 _Arthur: So you've met him. Lovely. I'll sneak out if I can._

Below that was a picture of a dark hallway, lined with barred iron doors. Another picture followed of an eerie looking room that could only be described as a control room of some sort. A series of high-backed seats and consoles were on one side, and a glowing green tank of some fluid with tons of wires hooked up to it on the other.

 _Arthur: Nearly got caught trying to get that. If that doesn't help I swear._

 _Alfred: OMG FMB says he knows where that is! it's like all the way across the country but still!_

 _Arthur: Lovely._

Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, Matthew gave a small yawn. "That's great. So we know where he is?"

"Yeah, but for one, he says it's like, totally dangerous!" Alfred explained. "Er, Flying Mint Bunny, I mean. And then he flew off."

He wasn't awake enough to register meaning in that. "Um, so what now?"

Alfred shoved him an empty suitcase. "We get the others and go. Duh."

An hour and a stack of syrup-drenched pancakes later, they were on the road, en route to see those three partners of Arthur's his twin had told him about. Matthew was, per norm, a bit nervous with Alfred driving. He really didn't seem to acknowledge speed limits as things that existed, to the point where he made a drive that should have been nearing an hour in length last just above thirty minutes, which was not nearly enough time to divine any meaning in his life. Honestly, he wouldn't have been surprised if they'd been pulled over, but considering some of the "shortcuts" he took were incredibly far out of the way, he also wasn't terribly surprised when they weren't.

The house they arrived at was familiar. Well, didn't Alfred say that one of the other Countries was the brother of a friend? So, he probably had been there before and just didn't quite remember it.

His twin jabbed the doorbell a dozen times before anyone came, and the boy who answered the door looked very distinctly familiar. Lovino, that had been the friend that Alfred had been talking about, and judging from the similar features and hair curl, there was no way they weren't related.

"Hello again!", he (Italy, was it?) greeted cheerfully, before adding a confused "Wait, did you say you were coming by today?"

"No," said another voice, very sharply. Behind Lovino's brother, a young man with slicked back blond hair appeared. He looked very, very familiar. Like, to the point where Matthew was positive they'd met before. No, not that they'd met, but that he'd met someone who looked like that. Alright, come to think of it, he looked a bit like a friend of Francis's he'd met once or twice. A white-haired guy with strange red eyes; there was something similar between his scowl and Gilbert's smirk. Perhaps they were brothers as well?

Well, he supposed he could ask later, as Alfred interrupted his pondering. "Well, maybe I didn't, but this is like, legit super important! I need to ask you three-"

"Two," the harsh man corrected. "Kiku isn't here at the moment."

"Where is he then? I can wait, but-"

Continuing to aim a death glare on Alfred, the harsh blond (Germany? If he wasn't Kiku or Lovino's brother, that was the only other one his twin had mentioned) said "I'm unsure when he would be able to come. He's, er, taking care of some things."

"Love things!", "Italy" clarified brightly. "See, he sort of like this one-"

"That isn't any of their business!", "Germany" scolded.

"Italy" looked confused. "Wait, 'their'? But it's just Alfred, who else are you talking about?"

Matthew felt blood rush to his cheeks and through his veins in equal measure. "Um, I'm here too!", he cried.

"Yeah, my bro Mattie came with me," Alfred explained. "Italy" seemed to look around for a solid ten seconds before he seemed to land on Matthew. "He's like, Canada or something, but he can't magic yet. I can though! I can see the freaky green rabbit thing! Isn't that cool? But, like, that's not why I'm here. Actually, I heard from Arthur and-"

"You did?", "Italy" pressed. "Is he okay?"

Alfred nodded first, but then shook his head. "Well, um, it's… complicated. This might take a while…"

* * *

 ** _AN- Canada got a chapter! Totally wasn't my original plan, but I realized that my original plan for this chapter would need to be postponed to be part of chapter 19. Sorry Prussia, but you'll have to wait. So, instead, have existential Canada and America talking to himself. He really takes after his brother, doesn't he? Next chapter shall be Japan, and I will attempt to make it a Christmas update. Consider it my Christmas present to the Giripan shippers. Or maybe not. Either way, since it's the holidays, I'll try to update a bit more frequently than normal. Hopefully, I can get to chapter 20 by the end of the year! And why is that important? Well, you'll see… So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	20. White Lies

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Eighteen- White Lies_

All he had to do was go in. All he had to do was open the car door, grab the apology gift he'd prepared, take the handful of steps to Heracles's front door, and ring the doorbell. Kiku couldn't find it in him to do any of that.

He knew he was out of time to be indecisive. He'd been hiding from his decision for nearly a full day now, and despite everything that had happened since that odd confession, he still knew he had to give his friend some form of closure.

Those flowers Heracles had sent were what had pushed things over the edge. The bouquet that had shown up at his doorstep were unmarked, but there was no one else they could have come from. Not to mention that the bouquet would have been rather odd had it not come from him. People didn't send chrysanthemums or camellias unless they'd previously been talking with a friend about Japanese flower language. Apparently, the red camellias meant "in love", and the yellow and white chrysanthemums… well, their meaning was unimportant. He knew it was just because that was what his name meant, not because of "truth".

...Well, perhaps it was truth. After all, that was what he wanted to hear, right? But what was his "truth"? He'd been too distracted by the news of death and danger last night to ponder it too much, and yet he was a breath away from being forced to say something. Accept, and what, would they be… together? Is that what he wanted? He truly didn't know. But reject, and he could hurt him, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt his dear friend.

He still had no idea what to do. The raging sea of emotion within him hadn't calmed, but he needed to do something. Before the subject had changed, Yao had been so helpful in helping him think clearer before, so surely he'd be able to help now, right? He dialed the number, but found it went straight to voicemail.

"Ah, sorry I couldn't answer you, aru! If this is Kiku calling, well, I am very sorry and I hope you'll take my advice and please, don't do anything reckless. If this is someone else, well, just ignore that first part and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

He hung the phone up. Had that recording been recent? There wasn't any other reason to apologize or advice he could remember before that, and the two hadn't spoken in quite some time before that, so what other reason would he have to address him specifically? Either way, that wasn't helping his pounding heartbeat in the slightest, so he turned to his contact list for someone he was sure would pick up.

It only rang twice before Feli's bright voice came from the other end. "Oh, Kiku! We were just talking about you! How are things going with the love confession?"

He felt very warm, despite the fact his car wasn't on and it was the middle of November. "Well, that- that is actually why I'm calling. I truly have no idea what to say, and you are rather good at these sorts of things, right?"

"Just tell him that he makes your "kokoro" go "doki-doki"! That's what those books you read always say,"

Facepalming seemed the only logical response to that. "That- that wasn't what I was asking…", he muttered, but he wasn't sure the receiver picked it up.

Faintly, he could hear another voice from Feliciano's line. "Hey, tell him about the thing!", a vaguely familiar voice boomed.

"Oh, and actually, we needed to talk to you about some things!", Feliciano quickly amended. "Like… scary things."

A sudden shift in the tone of Feliciano's voice combined with Alfred's voice earlier told him exactly what this was about. "Did you hear something new about England?", he questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Well, yeah. Turns out he got captured by the bad guys, and they're holding him in their secret base."

"Oh?"

"And it's like, super dangerous there, but Flying Mint Bunny knows where it is," Feliciano continued. "But it's like, really far from here! Like, on the other side of the country! But if we don't do something, he might get really hurt! Or worse!"

Was this… an offer to go save him? The dangers were clear (and he knew a Magical Girl was a dangerous job, given he'd seen Madoka), but Arthur was their ally. There was no way they could just leave him to die. "We should help him," he declared, and he heard a small gulp coming from the other side of the receiver.

"B-but I just told you it was dangerous!", Feliciano countered. "And you were supposed to say it was stupid, right?"

Stupid, perhaps so, but the power burning from the metal bell on his throat reminded him that it was the job given to them by their powers. "We are Nation Scouts. We must fight for justice, no matter what the cost. Isn't that what a hero is?"

From the shout of "Ha! That's what I said!", he was pretty sure that Alfred and whoever else was there was listening in on his words. He heard indistinct voices in the background, but Feliciano himself didn't say a word for quite some time.

When he finally spoke, it was oddly meekly. "You-you're right…", he agreed. "I know we should help him, but it's scary, and, well, Arthur took pictures of the place, and they looked like something out of my nightmares! Like, exactly like a place I dreamed about the other night, right down to the creepy green tank thing! Plus, his cell had a bunch of chalk marks so it looked like the place I dreamed about like, way before, and that's kind of creepy too. I don't know why, but I just know something really bad's gonna happen if we go there."

Words rang in his ears: "don't do anything reckless", his brother reminded him. Going on a mission like that was the most reckless thing he could possibly do. It was right to help their ally, but what cost would it bring? "Maybe we should think about this before making any decisions," he advised. "I'll finish up here. Then, we should talk about it."

"Okay!", Feliciano said, his voice regaining its normal cheer. "Good luck!"

A slight smile came to his lips as he hung up. This life he'd gotten caught up in was painfully dangerous, wasn't it? And the honest truth was, if he was even going to allow Heracles to consider pursuing a relationship with him, he should tell him exactly what that would mean. If he found it too dangerous to have feelings for someone destined to a life of battle, or was repulsed by the fact that he wasn't quite human, that would end that. And even if that didn't change things, he still wanted to be honest with him.

He grabbed the gift he'd made for Heracles. It was no bouquet of meaningful flowers, but he was sure he'd appreciate the thought. The cat ear headband would match the bell necklace that had given him his powers, and it would show Heracles that even if he didn't want to be involved, he was still what gave Kiku the strength to be a hero.

His hands still shook as he got out of the car, and he felt the sharp chill of wind against his red-stricken cheeks as he made his way to the front door. He still didn't know his own answer, but maybe if he could just explain what he'd been trying to say when this whole thing started, he would be relieved of the pain of having to give one.

But before he could go in, his heart was stopped by the thrusting open of the front door, and Heracles running out, pale and gasping for breath. His friend ran, not even noticing him for a moment, and Kiku was terribly confused until a man wearing a white mask followed him out.

Brandishing a curved blade (a scimitar, was that what it was called?), the masked man sneered. "Greece, running is sort of useless here," he called. "If you weren't so difficult, we could just talk this out nicely."

"Kiku!", Heracles suddenly called out, stopping running as he reached his side. "Please, I need your help! This man, he's insane! He keeps calling me 'Greece' and talking about recruiting me for something and trying to attack me with that sword and I don't know how he got into my house!"

It was unmistakable. This was another Nation Scout, one likely on the enemy's side. White mask, he even matched the description Italy had given of one that had appeared in his odd dream vision.

Without thinking, Kiku let his power envelop him. Waves crashed against his ears, and white crashed against his skin until Japan was spat back out of the bright cocoon. Reaching for the air, he summoned his katana and water covered its blade.

He knew Heracles was gaping at him, but he couldn't worry about that now. He needed to worry about their enemy, who was summoning a rush of what had to be sand and sending it his way. Kiku blocked the impact with the water and the sword, but felt it all gathering at his feet.

The enemy's blade came rushing towards him, flung like a projectile. He somehow struck it out of the air, impressing even himself. "Japan" had a lot of skill, even without much training, it seemed. Still, the blade clattered to the mass of sand rushing at his ankles and was somehow thrown back by the sand to its master.

Shock must have registered on Kiku's face, as his enemy simply laughed. "Wow, you thought that was impressive? And to think they thought you were dangerous."

All the sand seemed to coil around his legs. Kiku tried to move, but found they were planted firmly in place. How odd, that his own Mercury Coil was being mirrored and used against him. Perhaps that could work here? He swung a blade of water at the enemy's feet, but a mass of sand rushed to greet it. His attack was absorbed by it effortlessly.

He kept sending blades of water, but none of them connected. They just kept being blocked by his enemy's sand attacks. Nothing whatsoever connected, it was a useless fight, but the ragger breathing of Heracles behind him kept him aiming at nothing until he felt like he'd been drained of every drop of water he had to give.

"Are you done?", his enemy questioned, and Kiku didn't say a word. He couldn't, as masses of sand were covering his arms and he could no longer move.

"Please, leave him alone," Kiku begged. "He hasn't done anything."

Another twisted smirk came from the enemy. "And that's how we want to keep it," he retorted. He reached out to Heracles, who was standing next to Kiku, every bit as trapped as himself. "Let's bring this conversation elsewhere, so troublesome people like him won't interrupt us."

"N-no!" Heracles's cry filled the air, as did a bright light. When it faded, Kiku found all the sand had vanished, as had both his friend and his attacker.

It took him a second to process what had happened. Heracles couldn't be a Nation Scout, could he? And yet, whoever had attacked him certainly thought he was.

Was that how the enemy recruited all their members? By dragging them kicking and screaming from their lives? If so, he almost felt bad for ever raising a blade at anyone. And yet, they'd done terrible things, but essentially forced to at gunpoint.

While wondering who could be designing such a terrible group, he realized that despite his powers and blade falling away, he was still holding the cat ears he'd meant to give Heracles. Would that have ended up being the thing to activate his own powers? What, would he have given them to him and they'd both found they had powers and face everything side by side?

...He would have liked that.

Something burned deep inside of him, a loathing like none he'd ever known. The enemy, whoever they were, they operated in the most loathsome way. Belarus, hadn't she said just as much? That they'd kill her siblings and her if she failed? Everyone, even that man who had captured Heracles, likely was held under just the same threats.

Silently, he apologized to Yao. He had no choice now, he had to be reckless. The powers he had, the fact that he was still on the side of light, he had to fight. Rescue England, rescue Heracles, whatever it took to end this. It was the right thing to do, it was the path he was being led down, and he had no choice but to follow it.

As he turned away to go meet Italy and Germany and whoever else to discuss this path, he realized that he'd finally found his answer. All this time he'd spent trying to figure out how he felt about Heracles, but this burning anger was the best answer he had. Why hadn't he just said something earlier? If he'd just realized how much he loved him yesterday, he could have stopped this from happening. Or even if he'd just been honest about what he was, then he wouldn't be in the hands of darkness.

His eyes burned, and his throat did as well. "I 'like' you too," those four words could have changed their paths for the better, and they would have been true.

* * *

 _ **AN- Merry Christmas you guys! Or other holiday! Or not holiday! I got you a present, don't you like it? It's misery and suffering for Greece and Japan! Okay, maybe this is my present to myself. I love a good tragedy, and I love seeing amazing characters try to earn a happy ending that I may not be willing to give. It's not sadistic, it's writing.**_

 _ **Okay, you all clearly hate me now, so I'll make it up to you, okay? The very next chapter, and the one after that; they'll be your real present. Chapter 19 will have something that you all have been asking for as long as this story has been up, and chapter 20 will be pretty much just fluff, and likely make a certain portion of you all very happy. I'm being serious this time. Next time and the time after that, you'll have reason to forgive me for making everyone suffer in this chapter. So you can hate me all over again later.**_

 _ **But in all seriousness, thank you all so much for reading. -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, just a quick comment on the flowers Greece sent Japan, or more specifically, the yellow chrysanthemums. In Japanese flower language (aka Hanakotoba), they mean "imperial", but in non-Japanese flower language they mean "slighted love". So Greece was sort of being passive aggressive in sending them. And also, I am well aware that Turkey is not a desert nation. However, I went with sand as his power because I wanted him to counter Japan's and Greece's powers. Which should give you a hint as to what Greece's powers might be.**_


	21. Red String

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Nineteen- Red String_

It was rare when anyone was able to see Kiku angry. Really, Ludwig was fairly certain he could count how many times he'd truly seen him get riled up about something on one hand, and he'd known him since middle school.

This was how he knew something was wrong before his friend said a word on the subject. His concern only increased when after Alfred declared his intention to go after his brother, no matter who else decided to come with him, Kiku immediately declared his intention to do the same.

"Our enemies are despicable people," he declared. "And we are forces of light. We must do whatever it takes to end their reign of terror."

"And what makes you say that?", Ludwig pressed.

"I saw them take Heracles because they believe he had powers. There was nothing I could do to stop it alone, but it's likely they took him to the same place as England, don't you think?"

That would be the explanation, wouldn't it? Ludwig wondered if his friend had been taken right in front of him, but could tell it wasn't the time to inquire and further.

"I'm sorry, that's really terrible!", Feliciano quickly exclaimed. "But… well, I still think you need to be careful. I just have a really bad feeling about it!"

A slight voice, one that hadn't said much and honestly he'd forgotten was even there spoke up. "Eh, well, I want to come help my brother, but I don't seem to have any powers yet," Alfred's brother (Matthew, was it?) muttered. "Really, I'd just weigh you all down, and I don't think Arthur would want me to put myself in senseless danger for his sake."

"Don't worry, Mattie, I'll save him for the both of us!", Alfred loudly vowed, and Ludwig continued to dislike being associated with him. He was a complete lunatic, obnoxious, and may God help him if Alfred was the one to drag his friends into the abyss.

No one really said anything for a minute, until Kiku turned to him. "Ludwig, you haven't said what you plan to do about this."

What did he plan to do about this? Simple: nothing. He didn't personally care about any of the people they were saving enough to throw his pleasant life away.

But Feliciano still seemed unsure about the whole thing. As much as he advocated for staying out of it, he still seemed to be considering the offer to some degree. That provided another answer.

"Well, I personally think it's a bad idea, but I wouldn't allow Feliciano to go alone," he admitted. "So if he goes, I suppose I will as well."

He got a few odd looks for this, specifically from Kiku. Had it sounded a bit too sentimental, perhaps? But it was true; he could never let Feliciano do something so very reckless and, for lack of a better word, senseless alone. Such an action would defy a very crucial unspoken rule of friendship.

Feliciano, however, seemed to be made even more nervous by this. "Um, I really just don't know what I'm gonna do," he admitted. "I don't want to let anyone get hurt, but I really don't want to get hurt either."

"Why don't you sleep on it?", Ludwig suggested. "Talk it over with your brother. Whatever you decide is fine."

"That sounds good," Feliciano agreed. "We can meet up at your place tomorrow morning and talk about it more."

He very much wanted to ask why they were going to meet at his house specifically, but quickly remembered that Lovino had reacted rather poorly last time they tried to meet in the morning at his house. So begrudgingly, he agreed to this and gave Alfred the address so they could meet there.

He prepared to leave, but was stopped by Kiku on the way out.

"May I talk to you for a moment," he requested.

Ludwig was fairly certain he knew what this was going to be about. He was going to be chastised for not going along with Kiku's plan to save the friend that had been captured. "Of course. Look, I'm very sorry about what happened with Heracles, but I still-"

Lowering his voice and opening the front door for them to step outside, Kiku shook his head. "No, that is not what I'm saying. I don't question your choice, but I want to know: why is your intent to go only if Feliciano does?"

"Well, he's my friend- and that's not to say you aren't, but I don't think I could allow someone like Feli to go alone."

"Is he truly worth that much to you?", Kiku pressed. "To sacrifice your own morals to follow his?"

Some sort of exasperated sigh left Ludwig. "What- what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that our lives are changing irreversibly. Even if you stay, the fact remains that we are very close to some sort of ending. Can't you feel it? This power is changing us. Time is running out, Ludwig, and I don't want you to hesitate and make the mistake I did. So please, if my suspicions are correct, tell Feliciano how you feel before there's no one left to tell."

Kiku then calmly walked away, as if nothing had happened, leaving Ludwig incredibly confused. He told Gilbert about this conversation as soon as he got home, and was met with just a laugh.

"Really, you couldn't figure out what that could possibly mean?", Gilbert questioned mockingly.

Ludwig sighed. "No. I really can't. 'Tell Feli how I feel'? About what? Not going? But he knows that perfectly well!"

"Look, I'm going to have to tell you something I swore to never tell a soul, so you have to promise never to repeat this, okay?"

The pile of confusion grew. "I won't, but what are you getting at?"

"So, since you and Feli were probably like, five, I've had a bet with Lovino," Gilbert began. "I told him that someday our little brothers would get married, and he told me there was 'no way in hell that would ever happen'. Those exact words. So, we bet a hundred bucks on it, which sort of seemed like a really lot of money back then, and I've been waiting for you two to get together ever since."

That actually explained a lot. "That's not surprising in the slightest," said Ludwig. "But why tell me this now?"

"'Cause when you two started hanging around Kiku, one day, he asked me if you and Feli were dating, because he couldn't figure it out for himself. So I told him about the bet, and we started talking about you two and how you'd end up. We both agreed you'd end up together one way or another, but we sort of had different ways of picturing how it would happen. I said you'd be the first to confess, and he said it'd be Feli. And I made another bet about it."

"So this is all about some years old bet?", Ludwig questioned. That seemed like an awfully petty thing for Kiku to bring up- but wait, he'd bet on it happening otherwise, so unless he'd said something to Feliciano about it as well, it didn't make much sense.

Gilbert chuckled again. "Yeah, no. It's a lot more serious than that, but I was just giving that as an example. Basically, I just want you to answer me: do you like Feliciano in that way or not?"

His first instinct was to shout that he didn't. His second was to tell that no-shouting voice to can it, because it wasn't entirely correct. If he was being entirely honest, he felt something distinctly different towards Feli than he did towards anyone else. He wanted to protect him, he wanted to make him happy, he wanted to be beside him. Was that romantic love? He wasn't too sure.

"Kesese, you're blushing," Gilbert mocked in a sing-songy voice. "Look, like I said, everyone and their estranged third cousin in law can see it. Kiku was trying to tell you that all that Magical Country stuff is dangerous, and either you're gonna die or you'll come out of it different, so you'd better tell Feli that you feel gay feelings towards him soon or you'll never get the chance."

"I could never say something like that!", Ludwig countered. "Even if I did feel that way, the distinct possibility remains that he wouldn't."

With a shrug, Gilbert said "Well, what's the worst that could happen?"

"He could be weirded out by it and not want to continue being my friend. We could actually get together and have some sort of breakup that leaves us hating each other." And those were just the ones off the top of his head.

"You're being stupid," Gilbert bluntly told him. "What, is Feliciano 'Precious Cinnamon Roll That Loves You Unconditionally' Vargas going to reject you harshly? Seriously, the worst possible thing I could imagine him saying is, like," His brother closed his eyes and smiled widely while his voice rose an octave in an impression of Feliciano. "'Ve, sorry Ludi, but I don't feel the homo for you! But we can just be friends, right?'"

Ludwig felt a bit weirded out. "He doesn't sound like that," he muttered.

"And if he does feel the homo for you, and you two decide later it doesn't work, I can't see you two having any sort of nasty breakup. Even when you two fight, it never lasts for long, and you'll put up with a lot more from him than you would anyone else. Regardless of gay thoughts, you two have a strong friendship and something as stupid as a breakup wouldn't change that."

Glancing at the string bracelet around his wrist, Ludwig vaguely wondered if those powers their friendship gave him would disappear if something happened to break that bond. The strings looped around his pinky finger felt unbreakable, like the magic contained within them were stronger than the strings their power produces. And that was the strength of that friendship, that was how much he cared about Feliciano, and how much he cared back. "I suppose you're right," he admitted. "But what if by some miracle he does like me? What then?"

Gilbert gave an odd sort of smile. "Then you slay the monsters, save the princesses, and live happily ever after."

"This isn't a fairy tale," Ludwig scoffed. "People are getting hurt, people are dying!"

"Well, a lot of fairy tales are pretty messed up," Gilbert pointed out. "And an awful lot of them are German."

That was all that was really said on the subject that night. Ludwig somehow felt his convictions were right, though. He'd felt so alone when he'd been afraid Feliciano's powers were making it so he couldn't be there for him, and so relieved when his own powers mandated that wasn't the case. Even as he laid awake in bed, begging sleep to hurry up and take him away, he couldn't get the idea of it out of his mind.

Feliciano was the one he loved… He wanted to be with Feliciano… He wanted to be Feliciano's boyfriend… Those thoughts were new to him, and he was fairly certain that they wouldn't come to fruition, but he liked the sound of them, and he liked the certainty fear gave him in thinking them…

* * *

 _It seemed Germany's awareness was covered in some half-formed fog. Everything was too hazy to make out, but he was acutely aware of Italy standing beside him._

 _"Are you sure … this?", Germany questioned, unable to hear all of what left his mouth._

 _The reply was muddled, but it sounded anguished. "... I'm not… don't wanna die … you love me back … remember … Holy Rome ... want to be with you … this is what … Please … can … just … sleep..."_

 _Despite being unable to make out his words, he still responded to them by grabbing onto his hand. How, he was unsure, as he couldn't see it clear enough to do so. "... sounds lovely … have to … other … murdered in our sleep … can't hold them off …"_

 _Faintly, he heard Italy's weeping, and rose his other hand to wipe away tears from eyes he couldn't see. His own voice was even harder to make out of the odd static shielding his view. "Everyth ... fine … meet again … reincar ... and … veryone el ... Romano, Prussia, Fra … ryone … ere."_

 _"...on't want … lose every ... don't … lone like … fore y … apan found me again. "_

 _Clarity began to reappear. He could see Italy's eyes, shining with tears. He could see the hand he was holding with a deathgrip. He could feel the fear radiating from the three people standing in front of a door. He could very clearly hear his vow: "Italy, I promise, next time everything will be fine, and I will never leave you."_

* * *

 ** _AN- Okay, first, I'm actually super sorry. I'd meant for Prussia's transformation to be this chapter, but it ended up running long, so I decided to delay that to next chapter. It might seem a bit short, but with a proper fight scene, it would have ran well above 3K. That's probably for the best, though. After all, I doubted a love confession could carry the chapter on its own. (If you didn't expect me to actually get the GerIta in so quickly, then why on earth would I have listed them as a pairing in the story's character list if it was to be ambiguous for most of the story?)_**

 ** _By the way, have you noticed that in dreams, the characters almost always refer to themselves by their country name? And that this is the first time anyone other than Italy has had a dream like this? And that I pretty much always use the country names in my Author's Notes?_**

 ** _So, for whoever's curious, here's the full version of Germany's dream's dialogue without the cut off parts! Maybe someday I'll let you guys see the context of this conversation..._**

 _Germany: Are you sure you're ready for this?_

 _Italy: No, I'm not! I don't wanna die yet! Not when I know you love me back, and you remember being Holy Rome, and really I just want to be with you some more, 'cause this is what I've wanted forever! Please, Germany, can we just go back to sleep?_

 _Germany: That sounds lovely, but no. We have to do this. The only other option is getting murdered in our sleep like my brother. We can't hold them off any longer._

 _Italy: *cries*_

 _Germany: Everything will be fine. We'll meet again when we're reincarnated, and we'll meet everyone else again too. Romano, Prussia, France, everyone will be there._

 _Italy: I know, but I don't want to just lose everyone again. I don't want to be alone like I was before you and Japan found me again._

 _Germany: Italy, I promise, next time everything will be fine, and I will never leave you._

 ** _Anyways, thank you all so much for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	22. Arrossire

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twenty- Arrossire_

 _Once more, Feliciano was sure he was peeking into some sort of private scene that he wasn't supposed to be able to see. It was a cell, just like the one he'd seen before, but rather than being covered in chalk, the only thing in the room was a figure lying on the floor. None of their features could be made out from the way the light was cast combined with the direction they were facing, but they seemed to be wearing pink._

 _He was half sure the person was asleep, so it was a little startling when they stirred and suddenly sat up. The person looked a bit familiar; a young man with long blond hair and sharp eyes. Sort of looked like Ludwig's old boss, to be honest._

 _The person looked around for a bit before sighing. "Toris, you idiot," he muttered under his breath, messing with a bracelet on his wrist absentmindedly. "How the heck did you do this before? It's boring and cold and lonely."_

 _Feliciano really wanted to talk to this guy. He seemed like he needed it. "Hey, can you hear me?", he shouted, just in case it was different than last time._

 _No response, so he bent down and poked the guy. His finger passed straight through his arm. Another apparition, he supposed._

 _A loud creaking noise filled the room, and both of them jumped. A bright, cold sliver of light pierced the air, and a shadow appeared at the slightly open door. It was Russia, and even in the dream he radiated coldness and scariness._

 _"You're Lithuania's friend, aren't you?", he questioned._

 _Narrowing his eyes, the pink-clad boy yelled "Call him by his real name, won't you? It's like, rude to act like a guy who you people are torturing isn't human!"_

 _Russia frowned. "Toris will be fine as long as everyone stays in line. So pretty please, don't do anything against orders, because I don't want him to die either."_

 _"Oh, he's your friend, is he?", the prisoner sharply asked. "'Cause you sure seem content to keep working for the people hurting him!"_

 _"That isn't how this works," Russia calmly assured him. "I am content because it keeps them from hurting him. Try to be too, okay?"_

 _No response, but Russia went on. "Anyways, you seemed sad, so I brought you a present!"_

 _A white stick of chalk was thrown on the cell's floor, bouncing and leaving a little powdery mark where it hit. "Now you can draw if you get bored!", Russia explained._

 _The prisoner still refused to say a word. Russia gently shut the door back, saying "Well, I'll try to make sure to bring you something good for your next meal, alright?" as he did so._

 _Casting a hesitant look towards the chalk, the prisoner took it and began sketching what looked like some sort of bird, muttering "How can that guy be so cheerful here?" under his breath as he did so._

 _The veil Feliciano was peering through seemed to pull him away from the scene just as he noticed the bird looked almost like it was on fire._

* * *

That weird dream still stuck in Feliciano's head as he walked to Ludwig's house, still not quite awake. They'd mentioned being friends with Lithuania, right? And had something happened to him? He knew it was silly to worry about someone who'd tried to kill them, but he couldn't help it. The guy had seemed nice, especially in that dream with Belarus.

Belarus, she'd said that if she didn't attack them, then her siblings would get hurt. Was that what they were talking about with Lithuania, then? Wow, he really felt bad for them. Sure, they were trying to hurt him and his friends, but if someone threatened to hurt Lovino or Ludwig or Kiku, Feliciano knew he'd do an awful lot to keep them safe too. But would he hurt other people? He'd never really had to think about that, but he'd attacked a few people before in self defence, so he guessed he probably would.

He kept thinking about things like that and how cold it had gotten and how the leaves were fading and how it would have been really nice if Lovino would have gotten up to drive him over there until he noticed a crunching of leaves behind him. Heart skipping a few beats, he felt the cross around his neck grow hot and then envelop him with light as he looked over his shoulder. Yeah, someone was definitely following him. Specifically, Switzerland was, and he looked a bit annoyed that he'd transformed so quickly.

"Ah, good- good morning!", Feliciano stuttered out. Maybe it was like that one time in the diner with Finland and if he just played it cool like Arthur had they could just have a pleasant conversation and not fight. "Um, it's kind of... cold out, isn't it?"

"Please stop," Switzerland very flatly requested. "I'm not here to talk, and you know that as well as I."

Not daring to look back, Feliciano started to walk much faster. "But it was worth a try, right?"

His answer was a gunshot, and he felt really awake as he started running at top speed. Ludwig didn't live much further, right?

Several shots just barely missed his head. Feliciano turned a corner. This was really not how he wanted to be woken up on a Sunday, and at the back of his adrenaline-consumed mind, he wondered how any of the neighbors weren't being bothered by all this noise.

Another round of loud bangs- why did magic guns have to be so loud?- and Feliciano cursed his luck. Why why why did Switzerland have to attack him while he was walking alone? Why did he ever think walking alone would be a good idea? Ludwig lived like, two miles away! That's like, far, and also pretty much painting a target on his back! He could have just asked someone to drive him over there, but no, he didn't want to bug anyone, and he thought a walk might be fun! He even had known Ludwig was up, so he could have just asked him to come get him.

Would Switzerland ever run out of magic to shoot him with? More bullets barely missed him, and he had to glance back every once in a while to keep it that way. Feliciano continued to curse his stupidity. Why couldn't he have just learned how to drive himself? Sure, Lovino had said he was terrible at it and everyone on the entire planet would be safer if he never did it again, but he could get better, right? Right?

"Please stay still," Switzerland requested. "Really, it's getting a bit tiring."

If he wasn't so out of breath, Feliciano would have tried to think of something clever to say back. However, he kind of felt like if he opened his mouth for anything but breath he would just kind of die on the spot, and that would be really bad right now.

It felt like forever until he finally rounded the corner to Ludwig's street. Like, way too long, and a new burst of determination came over him as he realized he was close. Come on, he told himself, just hang in there a few more seconds and you'll be able to fight Switzerland off with help. His destination came into view, and he pretty much ran up the driveway faster than he ever had and began banging on the front door.

When the door opened suddenly, Feliciano nearly fell over. Ludwig looked like he was going to ask something, maybe why he was so out of breath, but his eyes widened as another shot was fired off, which Feliciano turned around and produced his flag to block.

Ludwig took a few steps outside as light enveloped him and spat him back out in uniform. Switzerland fired a few more shots, and they were promptly blocked by a rather large hunk of metal that Ludwig seemingly conjured out of nowhere. Despite being terribly out of breath, Feliciano still felt the need to point out how cool that was.

"Wow… di-didn't know you… could do… that was... cool," he wheezed out.

"Do you need to go in and get some water?", Ludwig asked. "I think I can hold this one off."

He was a heartbeat from taking him up on that offer when two guns appeared on either side of Ludwig and quickly shot light bullets at him with loud bangs. The shock made the metal shield vanish, and Ludwig stumbled a bit as he summoned a weapon- this time, a whip.

"Oi, weird gun guy!" A shout pierced the air, and everyone turned their attention to Gilbert, who had appeared at the door and was wearing an old shirt with an eagle design on it and pajama pants. Switzerland didn't seem to find this threatening, but Feliciano wasn't sure he'd ever seen him glare like that and was a bit scared himself.

"Don't shoot at my brother," Gilbert plainly stated, and with a small white flash, a sword appeared in his hand. Their enemy looked confused, but Italy raised his flag and shot a light bullet of his own while Gilbert charged him with the blade and Germany seemed to produce a swarm of needles with a crack of his whip that charged towards the target. All three seemed to hit at about the same time, and Switzerland stumbled back, a bit of blood coming from around his shoulder.

Gilbert seemed to notice the blood on the tip of his sword, and let out a disgusted cry as the sword quickly vanished. "What- what did I just do?", he frantically questioned.

"What are you?", Switzerland asked, seeming to focus more on Gilbert than his own wounds. "I've never seen someone use a weapon without transforming before."

"My big brother did something like that!", Feliciano tried to explain. "Except he kinda stole my transformation. Ludi, did he use your power?"

Ludwig shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of, no."

"Well, I must just be awesome like that!", Gilbert boasted, seemingly over the shock of having attacked someone. "So leave my little brother and his friends alone."

Switzerland took a few steps back, and his guns vanished. "I need to report this back. Please excuse me for a moment."

"Don't bother coming back," Ludwig threatened. "We prefer things quiet around here."

Switzerland seemed to laugh. "Quiet? Really? You all lost quiet the second Italy saw Flying Mint Bunny. That demon and this curse is unavoidable. Really, try to live a 'quiet' life with our forces breathing down your neck. The closest you can get is free-roaming hostage or making a passive deal that sounds nice but will end up ruining you in the end."

A sudden nervous look crossed his face. "I- I've said a bit much," he said, and quickly vanished in a flash of light.

* * *

Later that day, Alfred and Kiku showed up expecting an answer from them on whether they wanted to come or not.

Okay, that wording wasn't fair. They didn't just show up to talk about that alone. No, Kiku went out somewhere with Ludwig for a little while before they came back, and once Alfred and his brother that Feliciano could never remember existed showed up, they talked about a lot of other things before even getting to that part. Like, apparently Alfred and his brother both knew Francis, and said brother had met Gilbert before at something. And Ludwig seemed kind of nervous about something, but he never said what it was. Probably either that weird thing with Gilbert making a sword appear out of nowhere or the whole thing they were supposed to be talking about.

But the waiting was kind of killing Feliciano too. He'd thought way too hard about whether or not he'd go try to save Arthur and Heracles and whatever else, but he hadn't been able to decide about it even after talking to Lovino. But after what Switzerland said, combined with that dream from last night, he'd thought he'd decided what he needed to do.

"Um, so about the thing," he started, feeling like he was going to start shaking at any second. Everyone looked at him like they were confused. Okay, bad start. "The- the going to save them thing? Well, I think I should come with you."

Kiku seemed to almost smile. "Oh, lovely."

"Yeah, that's great, dude!", Alfred added.

"Are you sure about this?", Ludwig questioned.

Feliciano nodded. "Y-yeah. I was just thinking, and, well, these are bad people doing bad things, and they aren't going to stop if we don't do anything, right?"

"Alright, then, I'll come as well," Ludwig agreed. "I'm sure the missed schoolwork will shoot me in the foot down the line, but none of us have missed too much school, so a week of absences most likely won't do much but make us scramble a bit to make up for everything.

"Wait, that's seriously what you're worried about here?", Gilbert questioned, and then burst into laughter. "Look, I can talk to Liz 'bout this. She's one of your teachers, right? I'm sure she'll get you excused absences for world saving or whatever."

"Wait, you have superpowers too, right?", Alfred questioned, and Gilbert just sort of shrugged. "But you could, like, totally come with us!"

Casting an odd glance at the birds chirping ambience up on the other side of the room, Gilbert shook his head. "Yeah, no. Gilbird would kill me if I left her that long! And like, Ludi here can make giant metal things appear out of thin air. I can make a lame little sword and that's like, it."

"That's cool, though!", Alfred countered. "I don't even get swords! I tested it out, and I can like, get a gun and I think I can do some fire-explosion-thingy, but Mattie wouldn't let me see how cool it actually was 'cause he didn't want any property damage."

A soft voice added "Well, it seemed kind of illegal to do in a McDonalds."

Just as Feliciano was ready to tune out, Ludwig sort of tapped him on the shoulder. "Er, would you mind maybe, er, talking to me for a moment? In private?", he requested in a whisper.

"Sure!", he agreed, and Feliciano found his friend leading him outside. The sky was greyer than it had been earlier, and something about the wind said it was going to rain soon.

They sort of sat there on the tiny thing comparable to a porch for a moment before Ludwig spoke up. "You didn't have to agree to that," he stated. "No one was pressuring you into going, and if you don't want to, that's fine."

"But, well, I just thought…" How could he put his thought into words. "Well, Switzerland said that things won't be quiet as long as they're around. So, if they aren't around, maybe then things will go back to normal? And I had this dream last night where this guy who looked like your old manager and Russia were talking about how their friend would be hurt if they didn't do what the bad guys said, and, well, I don't want that."

Ludwig gave an odd sort of cough. "You- you don't want to end up having to protect someone like that?"

Feliciano nodded. "And, well, I don't want things like that to happen to anyone. But mostly I just don't want to fight anyone anymore."

"I can accept that," said Ludwig. "But, um, these dreams, are they normal? For a Nation Scout, I mean."

"Flying Mint Bunny said that England has them sometimes, but that mine are a lot more detailed, I think. Why, did you have one?"

Looking away, Ludwig said "Um, well, I suppose you could call it that. I don't remember much of it, to be honest, but last night I know I had a dream about something about all that. In it, I believe you mentioned a 'Holy Rome'. Do you know what that is?"

"Don't think so," Feliciano admitted. "Is that like the Roman Empire? With Caesar and Augustus and Jupiter and stuff?"

"I looked it up. It's something like that, I suppose. It's the Holy Roman Empire, and apparently became Germany over time." He paused for a moment. "You don't think that could be related to that weird power that Gilbert used, do you?"

"Maybe," Feliciano agreed. "I mean, it's an empire, so maybe that means he'd be strong enough to use weapons without a bracelet or necklace or anything."

Another odd cough, and Ludwig said something along the lines of "One second, I need to grab something" before sprinting back inside like Switzerland was chasing him. He returned a few minutes later clearly holding something behind his back.

"What's that?", Feliciano questioned, straining to look behind him as he sat back down.

Refusing to make eye contact, Ludwig pulled out a bouquet of flowers and practically shoved them in his face. Unsure of what to make of it, They were purple, and after a second, Feliciano recognized them as the same kind he had painted a few months ago.

"Heliotropes? Thank you, but what are they for?"

"Um, well…" Was Ludwig… blushing? That was new. "Kiku told me you liked them, and, well, I really have no idea how to say what this is, and however you feel about this is fine. I mean, whatever you say, I won't be upset, but, well, I-"

After taking a few deep breaths, Ludwig turned back to look Feliciano in the eyes, staring with a really odd intensity. "I am under the impression that I have somehow managed to- no, that's not right. You, um, are very im- no, that's not right either."

"Ludwig, are you okay?", Feliciano asked. He wasn't really sure what was going on, but his heart was pounding and he was a little worried.

"Yes. I am fine," Ludwig stated firmly. "But, well, even if we do manage to defeat the enemies targetting us, things are still changing, and there is no guarantee that things will be as they were. So, well, I thought perhaps that I could- we could, er, try dating now. J-just, you know, because we might not get another opportunity to do such a thing and I would like it if, um, well..."

What? What was he saying? Was he… asking him out? "Wait, do you mean like, _dating_ dating? Like, lovey romancey stuff?"

"Yes. As in, I am asking to be your, erm, boyfriend," Ludwig clarified. He gave another awkward cough and seemed to assume an interest in the heliotropes. "You like the flowers, don't you?", he quickly asked.

Warmth seemed to spread through Feliciano. He wasn't sure why, but hearing Ludwig say that made him really happy. It hadn't really occurred to him before, but the way he loved Ludwig wasn't any different from how he'd ever felt about a girl he liked, or even the hero that had saved him when he was little. Ludwig was really special to him, and seeing him happy made him happy. Not to mention how just being beside him made him feel stronger. That helped him get through his Grandpa's death, helped him get through any other things he was worried about, and it was helping him get through this Magical Girl thing now.

"I really like the flowers," he assured the person he undoubtedly loved most, reaching out to hold his hand. "And being boyfriends sounds nice!" The words sounded weird on his tongue, but it was a good weird. Like the kind of change that made things better and happier instead of worse.

Ludwig just sort of stared at him for a moment before one of his rare smiles overtook his face. He really was handsome when he smiled, and it always made Feliciano happy to be able to see that. So yeah, he did love him like that. "You mean that?"

"Yeah! This makes me really happy, actually."

He scooted closer to his friend- no, boyfriend, he corrected himself. Wow, that sounded weird still, but he liked it. They just sort of sat there for a minute, and it was nice. Feliciano genuinely had no idea what just happened, but he was happy, and Ludwig was happy.

The moment was broken, however, by Gilbert's cheering. "Yes! Yes yes yes! Ludi, I am so proud of you! Feli, tell your brother he owes me money."

Ludwig quickly turned to glare at the others, who had probably been watching them from the still open front door the entire time. "Shut up! This is an important moment and you don't get to ruin it for me."

"Oh, don't mind us," Kiku said dismissively. "We're all very happy for you two. Ah, Gilbert, I owe you a bit of money as well, right?"

"Wait, so you two weren't already together?", Alfred questioned. "Wow, seriously?"

"They'd probably rather be left alone," someone quietly added. "But, um, yes, very happy for you two people I barely know."

Feliciano found himself laughing. Everything felt weird and new and strange, but it didn't scare him. After all, what did he have to be afraid of beside his friends, and especially with Ludwig even closer to him?

* * *

 ** _AN- Did I overdo it? Maybe, but I was trying to make it believable for two friends awkwardly trying to ascend into datinghood. I'm not the best at romance, but I need to challenge myself, right? Also, Prussia is apparently very special! And I think his reasoning for not wanting to go was closer to "I just pretty much stabbed a guy and I'm not okay with that so I'm gonna stay in the weenie corner with Hungary and Canada, got it?" And Poland's still alive, and so is Lithuania (sort of)! Surely, we'll be seeing them soon. Also, I've noticed people starting to ask about Liechtenstein. That makes me happy, because she is a character I like very much, and I think we'll find out what became of her pretty soon now. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**

 ** _PS, that chapter title is Italian for blushing, pretty much meaning "turning pink". So, yeah, still sticking with color naming convention, but I saw that phrase and decided that it was too good not to use as the title for this chapter._**


	23. Silver Steps

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twenty One- Silver Steps_

"You sure about this?"

Lovino had asked him that about a thousand times already this morning, and it really didn't help Feliciano feel good about his choice to go. Still, they'd already packed up and they were loading Alfred's car up as they spoke, so it was a little late for second guessing.

"If you're so worried, is there any reason you can't come yourself?", Ludwig countered.

"Oh, I have several reasons, actually!", Lovino shouted back, maintaining the same scowl he'd bore whenever talking to Ludwig since they broke the news of their dating to him. "For one, I don't want to share a car with a horde of idiots for several days, not to mention Antonio would kill me for missing that much work!"

Gilbert gave a sly grin. "Oh, I think I could talk Toni around if you really wanted to…"

"...And I really have no idea what all this is about, so I'll be fine here," Lovino concluded, as if Gilbert had never butted in. He then turned back to Feliciano, and shook his head. "Just… be careful, alright?"

His brother was really worried about him, wasn't he? That sort of made Feliciano happy just knowing. "I will, fratello!", he vowed.

Lovino looked confused. "Fra-what?"

"It's Italian for brother," Kiku provided.

"Oh, it's one of your weird Italy things," he dismissed. He then turned to Ludwig for probably the thousandth time that morning. "And look, if you do anything to hurt my little brother-"

"-I wouldn't."

"-or let him get killed out there-"

"-not in a million years-"

"-or anything else, basically, well, I've always wondered how potato blood tasted."

Ludwig sighed. "Your threats are becoming less threatening and more just nonsensical."

"Don't talk back to me! I don't have to approve of you, you know!"

With a loud laugh, Gilbert put his arm around Lovino, who recoiled immediately. "Oh, come on, of course you do!", he countered.

"Hey, whose camera is this?", Alfred called from behind the car.

"Mine," Kiku quickly stated. "Please, do not break it."

A soft voice seemed to come out of nowhere and sort of scared Feliciano. "Um, Al, is my wallet still in there?"

"Uh, yeah, here." A wallet was thrown over the car and hit a blond that looked almost scarily like Alfred in the face.

That guy was called Matthew, right? Feliciano could never remember, but he put the wallet in his pocket and pulled out a phone. "Um, and do you think I should stay somewhere over here instead of going back home?", whoever it was questioned his brother. "I mean, hotels are kind of pricey, but I don't really want to be alone if any bad guys come…"

"Cut the cost and stay over at my place!", Gilbert offered.

Matthew or whoever's eyes widened. "Really? Is that alright?"

Gilbert nodded. "It's gonna be way too quiet for the awesome me without Ludi and his friends popping in and out, and we have a guest bedroom, so why not? Besides, it's kinda rude to make you stay at a hotel, right?"

"I'll do that then…"

"Yeah, me and you and Lovi can be the super awesome Team Stay-At-Home!", Gilbert exclaimed. "We'll fight evil and eat potato chips!"

"Why potato chips?", Lovino questioned. "Isn't that cannibalism for you?"

"Okay, first you were saying we ate too many potatoes and now you say that we are potatoes?", Ludwig questioned.

Lovino simply glared without a word until Kiku proclaimed "That's everything, right?"

Alfred punched the air in victory. "Yeah! Done packing! Now we can set off on our heroic quest to save Artie, Kiku's not-boyfriend, and possibly the world!"

Things got awkward for a second afterwards. Were they supposed to like, hug or something? Lovino just sort of looked at him for a second before sighing and saying "Just… don't die."

"O-okay!", Feliciano agreed.

Gilbert was a bit more enthusiastic about it. "Future brother in law, the awesome me wishes you and your party luck! Actual brother, well…"

Before Ludwig could protest, Gilbert hugged him.

"Um, bye…", someone else muttered. "Alfred, please be careful, and don't do anything stupid, alright?"

After all the awkward goodbyes, Team "Maybe-Saving-The-World" (Gilbert had called them that earlier, and Alfred had liked it) got into Alfred's car and just sort of left. And Feliciano fell asleep before they'd even gotten on the highway.

* * *

 _"Italy!"_

 _He could hear a voice calling out behind him on the busy street, barely audible over the roar of human life. His heart stopped. Someone had found him again. He couldn't let them catch him, he had to lose them._

 _With a lurch and a flicker, he dashed forwards, darting between people with a pained limp. It was a terrible idea to try teleporting like this with so many people around, but it was the best way to save himself. Besides, with so many people around, it would be impossible to tell it was him who kept vanishing and reappearing._

 _Down, down the street he stumbled, but he heard quick footsteps behind him. "Wait!", a familiar voice called, and he almost stopped when he realized who it was. He hadn't heard that voice in years, but no, it couldn't be real. The last friendly face he'd seen had been his brother, and he couldn't bring himself to think about how he'd ended up. All that blood, all that pain- he couldn't let himself think about that. He was being followed, and they had found a way to cause him even more pain. Having someone tear him to shreds while speaking in Germany's voice was about the worst thing he could imagine._

 _"Please, slow down!" That voice too was familiar. How had they captured Japan's voice? They hadn't killed both his friends, had they? Well, he guessed it wouldn't have been surprising. Really, the only other Nation he could say with any certainty was still alive was Liechtenstein, and that was only because Switzerland had made her near impossible to come anywhere near without getting killed in eighteen different ways. He hadn't had any contact with anyone who would have known, but it was hard even now to imagine that anyone could ever kill Germany or Japan. They were so strong, he'd never thought anything could touch them._

 _But then again, he'd thought the same about a lot of people, and that had not once yet proven to be true..._

 _They were still calling out to him, and the crowd was thinning out. He wanted to look back, because it sounded so much like his friends were behind him, but he couldn't stop for a single second. Those rumors of what whoever had been taking them all out was looking for, the things that Hungary had heard Romania had heard from Norway, it meant that if they caught him, something a lot worse than death would be in store._

 _Flash, step, flash, step; he didn't even know where he was going, and he was practically the only one in the darkened street. A target was blaring on his back, but if he stopped long enough to flash any further than ten feet ahead of himself, he wouldn't stand a chance._

 _Those voices kept telling him to stop running, but they had to be tricks. They sounded so real, but they couldn't be. Germany and Japan had no reason to be here, and really, good things just didn't happen to him anymore._

 _He firmly believed that right up until water began to coil around his legs and pinned them in place. It was at first terrifying, telling him he couldn't outrun his fate, but then he remembered the countless times he'd seen the exact same attack used by Japan. It wasn't possible it really was them, was it?_

 _"I am very sorry about that," Japan's voice quickly apologized as the water keeping him in place vanished._

 _"But you really shouldn't teleport around like that," Germany berated, taking a few steps closer to him. "It's a waste of energy, and generally a very stupid thing to do in public." That couldn't be a trick. Only his Germany would say something like that. Shaking, Italy turned around to face his friends, who looked as real as anything. They were gaping at him, like he was some sort of ghost, and he couldn't say he wasn't doing the same._

 _He was smiling for what felt like the first time in eons. "You… you really are here! I've missed you all so much!", he exclaimed happily, but they kept staring at him, like they were almost scared._

 _"Italy, what happened to you?", Germany asked, pointing to the right side of his face. "All those scars… you were attacked, weren't you?"_

 _Scars? Oh, how had he forgotten? That… thing that had taken Romano's life had also taken a good part of his face and torn up right leg. It'd made him sick to look at, and it'd probably healed a great deal by now, but it was probably just as jarring for them to see. "Um, sort of…", he admitted. "Well, it was more like ambushed."_

 _"How did you escape?", Japan questioned, almost in awe._

 _Those memories weren't something he wanted to return to, and he shook his head to shake the images loose. "I don't… please…"_

 _"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Germany assured him. "But regardless of what happened, you should have come to us instead of running all the way to Poland."_

 _Poland… He'd almost forgotten that's where he was, who he'd come to see, but when all this first happened he'd been so scared that all that pain would kill him. Poland's healing would have been able to help if that old friend had still been alive by the time he'd gotten here._

 _"Sorry!", he hastily apologized, trying to keep his spirits up. He was so happy, he'd be safe now, but he couldn't help but cry. "I just didn't…"_

 _Didn't what? Didn't want them to be hurt? Didn't want to know if they were dead? Really, he wasn't sure, but as he embraced Germany and allowed his tears to form a puddle on his shirt, he felt like his friends probably didn't care about his reasoning._

 _"Don't worry," a voice he'd never been so happy to hear reassured him. "We'll stick together. We won't let them kill us."_

* * *

Feliciano woke up with tears falling heavy from his eyes. He was scared. He was absolutely terrified. That dream- no, it'd felt more like a memory- still hung in the air. Even though he was in a car in the middle of the afternoon on a highway somewhere probably a state away from his home, it still felt like he could be standing battered on a darkened street.

Trying to distract himself, he scooted closer to Ludwig, who seemed to have began reading one of the many books Kiku had brought as "research material". Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a series of black and white drawings of a cute girl in a dress holding a staff.

"What'cha reading?", he asked, and repeated the question after Ludwig looked up and slid the headphones he was wearing off.

Ludwig looked briefly at the cover of the book before looking back at him. "It's some Magical Girl manga. Kiku said it would- wait, were you crying?"

"Just had another weird dream," Feliciano muttered. "Must have been some memory from when we were actual Country things. I was scared and I was running and you and Kiku found me and I think half my face had been torn up."

He was reminded of that last part by a phantom sting on the right side of his face. "Sounds unpleasant. These dreams, do you always have them?"

It felt like it was a lot, but had it been every day since this all had began? Feliciano tried to remember, but ultimately found that wasn't true. "No. Just sometimes."

"Maybe it's just when you wear that necklace?", Ludwig suggested. "Try taking it off when you sleep, maybe that'll make a difference. I can hold it now, if you still want to sleep."

"No thanks." Even now, he still felt like his grandpa's gift protected him. It gave him powers, but that didn't change why it was precious to him. Besides, those dreams were scary, but he also didn't want to stop seeing them. The things he saw helped him, and he didn't want to lose that.

Plus, he'd been wanting to try to draw that cool fire bird thing he'd seen in that dream from the other night. In the bag next to him, which was mostly filled with Kiku's books and camera stuff, he'd jammed a nice pad of paper and some pencils. He got them out and tried to use them, despite Alfred not exactly avoiding potholes and turning rather quickly.

By the time they'd stopped for the night, he'd managed to not only draw the bird thing, but the prisoner who had originally drawn it. Ludwig, who would occasionally look over his shoulder, repeatedly insisted that there was no way that wasn't Feliks. He'd met the guy a few times himself, and he'd never seemed half as bad as Ludwig made him out to be, but yeah, either his memory had sort of combined him with the convenience store manager, or they were the same person. Given how many other Countries had already turned out to be people they knew or were connected to, it was probably been the latter.

While he was drawing, he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that everything in his life was pretty much insane. A few weeks ago, he couldn't have dreamed that he'd be sitting in a car with his two best friends and a guy he'd not even met yet travelling to go save some friends and possibly the world from evil. He also couldn't have dreamed that he would actually be dating Ludwig. That was still so crazy to think about, and he still wasn't entirely certain what had happened, but he was really happy about it. Even if nothing looked like it had changed, and they weren't acting much differently around each other than they normally did, it felt different. More meaningful. Warmer.

Even if ultimately, he was doing little more than drawing a guy he barely knew in the back of a moving vehicle, it was still one of the nicest days Feliciano could remember having in a while. No one had tried to kill them yet, no school things to worry about, and generally, everything was fine.

Eventually, the sun began to sink in the sky and Kiku suggested they start looking for somewhere to stop for the night and get dinner. And Feliciano agreed with that, because Corn Nuts and Red Vines could not sustain him for much longer. An exit advertised some places to eat, so they turned in there, and basically just kept idly suggesting places until finally they just shrugged and turned into some random hamburger place because the driver happened to think it sounded good and everyone else was too hungry to really argue.

While everyone was still trying to get all the books and pencils and Game Boys consolidated enough to get out of the car, something started to sharply tap on the windshield. It took a little longer than it should have for anyone to realize it was Flying Mint Bunny, and once they did, it still took a second for everyone to get out and ask it what it wanted.

"Hey, finally caught up to you!", it exclaimed. "Look, um, there's a bit of a long story behind this, but basically, can I come with you guys?

Alfred was the one to provide an answer. "Uh, yeah, sure. But, like, why do you need to-?"

"Agh! She's back! Hide me!", Flying Mint Bunny quickly exclaimed before proceeding to hover behind Alfred.

Feliciano's first instinct was that the creepy scarf lady (Ukraine?) had come and was going to try to attack them. It was proven wrong as a sweet looking girl with short blonde hair with a blue ribbon in it came up to them, clearly out of breath.

"Um, excuse me, but have any of you seen a strange rabbit around here?", she questioned, voice soft and hesitant. Was this really the person Flying Mint Bunny was hiding from? She seemed really nice, but she was asking for a rabbit.

No one dared say a word until Ludwig finally very simply stated "No."

She nodded and gave a sad smile. "That's good. But just a warning, if you see anything like that, run away. It's very dangerous."

"Dangerous?", Feliciano repeated, remembering how Switzerland had called it a demon the previous day. "Why's that?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she assured them. "As long as you don't see it, there's nothing to worry about. I need to be going, but it was very nice to meet you all."

She only taken a few steps past them when she turned back around. "Wait, are you all positive you haven't seen it? Because I'm sure it came over here, and it seemed to be following that car earlier, and-"

"Agh, fine!", Flying Mint Bunny exclaimed, popping out from behind Alfred. "I'm here, you caught me. Now please, Liechtenstein, I know you're mad at me, but can we please just talk things over nicely?"

The girl, "Liechtenstein", went from a pleasant smile to a glare in a half second. "My name is not Liechtenstein!", she hissed. "I am Erika Vogel, and you, little demon, took my big brother away!"

A flash of white light, and Erika had transformed into a pink dress. Another flash, and she was holding a gun not unlike the ones Switzerland had used. She pointed it at Flying Mint Bunny, still glaring. "And I won't let you lead these innocent people to their doom like you did Basch!"

* * *

 _ **AN- Oh, Liechtenstein, how I have been looking forward to using you. And also butchering your name. She's actually one of my favorite characters, and I really am happy I get to use her finally. The fact that she hates FMB with the burning passion of ten thousand suns is just a bonus. That weird dream thing, well, I thought since it's a new year and this story hit 100 reviews and has, in general, been doing really well, you guys should get to see what Original Italy's last bit of life was like. Also, I didn't mean for that part to be so long, but look, everyone's miserable in it! Isn't that great? And Italy's weird teleport thing, well, that isn't really one of his powers. I'm just putting teleportaton thing down as a general power for fully powered nations. Something Ludi and Feli and Kiku can strive to achieve someday. So, thanks for reading, and happy new year! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, quick question, but do any of you guys want to see PruCan in this? I mean, they'll be sort of working together, and it would be possible for a relationship to come of that, but just keeping them as friends is an option too. If anyone has an opinion about it, tell me, 'cause it's sort of up in the air right now. But it's also the only pairing possible within the confines of the plot for either of them, 'cause I have something else in mind for pretty much all other options, (like Austria and Hungary,) so don't just reject it on the principle that you want me to pair them with someone else. Just judge it on the principle of if you'd like to see it, wouldn't, or don't care either way.**_


	24. Golden Petals

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twenty Two- Golden Petals_

Erika's heart pounded as she fled from the shop. She'd been so close to getting caught that time, and per norm, it was a bit of a miracle she wasn't.

Stuffed under the tatter of cloth she called a jacket was a few apples, carrots, and a loaf of bread. She always tried to take what she thought wouldn't be missed, what she thought they'd probably have enough of, what would make her seem the least selfish in taking them. Still, she cringed thinking of the countless security people who had been reprimanded or even fired because of her exploits. Stores like theirs let her live, and she repaid it by letting them suffer at her hands.

It was almost funny, when she thought about it. Liechtenstein, the Nation whose mantle she had been cursed with, was supposed to be incredibly wealthy. On the contrary, she had so little money that she had to steal just to not go hungry. Her brother hadn't been particularly well off when he'd been taken from her, and no matter how hard she tried to conserve his funds, she ran out very quickly. Even then, she tried selling things to make some cash, but soon, people realized that Basch Zwingli hadn't been seen by a soul in months, and that the little sister he'd adopted a few years prior seemed to be selling the contents of their house.

If only their curse had been something she could have explained. Why couldn't they have been ill, or under a threat that made sense, or at least something she could come up with an explanation for that wouldn't have landed her in an asylum? Because her only real options were to join the monsters who had taken her brother, be taken in by the police, accused of murdering her big brother, and sentenced to imprisonment, or keep running forever until she found a way to restore things to normal.

The third option was the one she had chosen, but only because it seemed like the only one with any hope. As she fled through the streets of a town far from the one she'd once been able to call home, she tried to remind herself of this. Hope still existed. Her big brother could maybe someday be saved, or at least come home once everything was done.

She was often checked up on by people that worked with Basch, and they'd always tell her that he was doing fine. Perhaps they were checking up on her for reasons mandated by their positions, either testing the powers of Liechtenstein or, more often than not, just reminded her that their order existed and they could smear her across the walls of whatever alley she was sleeping in that night if they wanted to, but it wasn't in the slightest discouraging. As odd as it was, those people who attacked her were the closest things she had to friends. She'd made a point to learn the proper names of each one who was willing to give them, and tried to make conversation with them to keep everyone sane.

It worked, too. Nearly everyone she fought had proved to be more than the heartless weapons they were meant to act as. Sadiq was very kind and would sometimes bring her food if he could. Katyusha was like an older sister almost, and had given her a scarf to wear just a month ago when she'd noted it was getting chilly. Tino always smiled and would ask her what sorts of things she was interested in. Just about the only one she'd met that wasn't willing to be friends was the man who wouldn't give his name as anything other than "Lithuania", insisting he was no longer human enough to use anything else, and even he had seemed like a genuinely nice person as he halfheartedly attempted to shoot arrows at her.

By the time she arrived back at the little hidden corner she was currently hiding in, behind a Mexican restaurant she could sometimes swipe extra food from, she'd noticed the sun beginning to fall in the sky. It would soon be too dark to read, so she quickly opened the history book she'd managed to take from the local library and continued on the page she'd bookmarked with a receipt that had fallen out of someone's pocket. It spoke of some countries she was unsure if she'd ever need to know about, but figured it would be much safer to at least have heard of. If nothing else, maybe knowledge of the spirits cursing her and her brother and her "friends" would help her find a way out of this life. It hadn't helped much yet, but she prayed that perhaps some passage in one of these books someday would tell her what kind of virus "Liechtenstein" was and how she could get rid of it.

She couldn't see yet how knowledge of the relationship between the countries Poland and Hungary would save her from this life, but it could. At very least, it might be an interesting topic if she ever met the poor souls infected with the powers of either of those two countries.

But as she read and ate part of her current store of food, she noticed an odd shape out of the corner of her eye. It was small, but it seemed to be flitting about right out of her view. Vaguely, she wondered if it could possibly be the demon that had told her brother he had Switzerland's powers, who tried to guide him through having powers under the guise that it wanted to help.

With the sound of a throat-clearing "ahem", Erika knew it was the little devil that called itself "Flying Mint Bunny". She put her makeshift bookmark back into her book, took another bite of her apple, and looked up.

"What do you want?", she questioned.

It zoomed towards her, painfully close to her face, and had the audacity to smile. "Oh, sweet! I'd heard you might be here. Look, I have a bit of a favor to ask of you. See, I have these friends-"

"Favor?", she repeated. "You want to ask me a favor? After you took my brother away and turned my life into… into…" She searched for the words, and finally settled for just gesturing to her surrounding. "Well, into this! And you think you can ask me for some sort of favor?"

With a gulp, the green demon gave a nervous laugh. "Look, I wasn't the one who recruited your brother. He would have awakened sooner or later. I was just trying to help him so he wouldn't get recruited, and I'm super sorry he did, okay?"

Lying as it always did. It always maintained that it had nothing to do with anything, but every other Nation-cursed individual she'd asked had told her that it had told them what they were before they were recruited. Well, all except Tino, who had refused to say a word on the subject, but Erika hadn't wanted to pry any further into his trauma. Even that only convinced her further of what her brother had warned her: "Flying Mint Bunny" wasn't to be trusted.

"You know," Erika pondered out loud. "If I were to take you out, maybe no one else would have to suffer?"

She didn't really intend to do that. Okay, maybe she did, but she doubted she could. The night Basch had been taken, she'd gone after the demon and found that not a thing she did to it could so much as bruise its tiny body. Still, it would get it moving, and she didn't want to look at it any more.

"Uh, that isn't a great idea," it protested, and started backing away slowly. Erika stood up and took a few steps towards it as it floated away. "Seriously, just hear me out! I want to help you, really!"

"Please, stop trying to help us!", she cried, and it quickly started flying away.

Despite accomplishing her goal, she ran after it all the same. It needed to know her threat was serious so he would truly leave her alone, right? So she dashed after it down the streets, down the sidewalk, and until she realized that it seemed to be eyeing and almost trailing a certain car. She couldn't make out who was in it, but if the demon had its eyes on something, she felt obligated to warn whoever it was.

She kept following it until the car turned into a hamburger restaurant, and she subsequently lost sight of the demon. Four young men, perhaps students or the sort on some sort of trip, got out of the car, and she still couldn't see it. Were they the ones it had been following? If so, she feared for them. Perhaps they hadn't been possessed by any powers yet, perhaps there was still time, so she stopped in front of them and attempted to warn them.

"Um, excuse me, but have any of you seen a strange rabbit around here?"

All four looked oddly nervous, until a serious looking blond very firmly said "No."

So they still had time to ignore the demon's call. "That's good. But just a warning, if you see anything like that, run away. It's very dangerous."

She knew she must have sounded ridiculous, but it was the only way to put it. Maybe they'd just forget about it and continue on with what they were doing. Hopefully.

But a cheerful looking guy with long brown hair that came up in a weird curl seemed too confused to forget it and questioned "Dangerous? Why's that?"

"Oh, it's nothing!", she assured them. "As long as you don't see it, there's nothing to worry about. I need to be going, so it's very nice to meet you all!"

She started to turn back, to make sure nothing and no one had gotten into her food while she was away, but realized that the scene didn't make sense. Where else would the demon have gotten off to? "Wait, are you positive you haven't seen it?", she pressed. "Because I'm sure it came over here, and it seemed to be following that car earlier, and-"

"Agh, fine!" The rabbit demon cut her off. "I'm here, you caught me. Now please, Liechtenstein, I know you're mad at me, but can we please just talk things over nicely?"

First it had the nerve to ask her for help, and now it wanted to call her by the name of the power using her body as a host? Glaring daggers, she hissed "My name is not Liechtenstein! I am Erika Vogel, and you, little demon, took my big brother away!"

The ribbon in her hair, the last remnant of her happy life, the glowing light spread from it and enveloped her body, transforming her into a form she disliked taking. "Liechtenstein" held all of her powers, but using them meant embracing the curse that had dragged her and Basch down. But if it was the only way to prove a point, she was happy to summon the gun she used as a weapon and point it at the rabbit demon. "And I won't let you lead these innocent people to their doom like you did Basch!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?", a young man with blond hair and glasses asked her. "Flying Mint Bunny isn't a demon, he's actually pretty cool!"

Erika noted that he was calling it a "he", but more importantly, that he was calling it by its name. So, it seemed she was a bit too late to save these four, but she could still tell them the truth before they too were deceived.

But first, she needed to take out the demon. A shot of her gun ran straight into it, but harmlessly bounced off. Another shot, this one using her other powers to produce a spray of golden petals slicing into it like knives, but not a single blow even produced so much as a scratch on its small, green body.

The glasses boy looked at her for a moment before calling out "Stop right there! Flying Mint Bunny is my friend, and I won't allow you to hurt him!"

Her fears that she was too late were further confirmed in a flash of light, from which the glasses guy emerged wearing a brown jacket and with a fiery aura about him. "He's no friend," she insisted. "Please, stand down. I don't want to hurt you, please."

"As if!", he countered. "I am Alfred F. Jones, the Nation Scout of America, and defender of justice! I will not stand idly by and allow you to hurt someone who's helping me and my brother!"

So he had a brother as well, one that was undoubtedly as cursed as himself. "He won't help your brother," she told him. "I truly am sorry, but he'll only bring him closer to getting recruited by those people."

"He's already been captured, though," a young man with straight, dark hair and a grave expression informed her. "Flying Mint Bunny is helping us rescue his brother."

Was that so? Erika felt the look of surprise on her face, but she refused to believe such a thing. "It's a trap," she said more to herself than them. "It has to be. That thing… Basch said it wasn't to be trusted."

"Don't you dare accuse me of doing anything to hurt England!", Flying Mint Bunny shouted back. "He's my br- friend! He's my good friend, and he's taken care of me over the past few months, and the last thing in the world I would do is use him to trick his brother and friends!"

The demon sounded so passionate, like she'd personally insulted it. She could almost for a moment believe it had a soul, but she couldn't believe that from all she'd heard, it could be anything less than a harbinger of despair.

"I-it's lying!", she insisted. "It's because of that demon that my big brother has to fight with all those other poor people to do whatever it is they're doing! I've been living on the streets for a year now, running from that group and police officials who think I killed Basch, and all because that thing told my brother that he had Switzerland's power!"

The boy with the weird hair curl seemed a bit caught off guard by this, but not for the reasons she'd thought. "Switzerland? Oh, I just fought him the other day!"

"You saw my big brother?", Erika questioned, suddenly curious. "Was he alright? Did he seem to be eating well? You didn't hurt him too much, did you?"

"Ah, well, my friend Gilbert kind of impaled him with a sword, but other than that he seemed to be doing fine!", the boy cheerily provided.

Despite everything, Erika almost took that news as relieving. She hadn't heard anything about him in weeks, and impaling really didn't seem like too bad of an injury in his line of work. "What's your name?", she asked the boy. After all, it was quite likely they'd end up fighting each other, and she wanted to be able to know who he really was.

"I'm Feliciano! Nice to meet you!" He extended his hand for her to shake. She did so gladly.

"Can I have the rest of your names as well?", she questioned. "I always like to know who the people who fight me really are."

She received a few odd looks, but she was perfectly used to that. "Um, my name is Ludwig Beilschmidt," the serious blond man stated. "I have no intention to fight you, though."

"And I am Kiku Honda," the black haired guy finished.

"It's very nice to meet all of you, but if you want to defend the demon, I won't allow it," Erika stated.

Said demon looked at her annoyedly, despite the fact she was still holding a gun to it. "Look, I'm not trying to hurt anyone, no matter what Sw- er, Basch says," it attempted to explain. She was close to firing again, but noted that it made sure to use her brother's real name. Was it actually making an effort.

"Then what are you trying to do?", she inquired. "Surely you realize you're causing more harm than good here."

"Of course I do," the demon admitted. "I've tried to save everyone important to me, but they always end up dead like Latvia or on the bad guy's side like Mama- er, Finland. And I just don't want Eng- er, Arthur to end up the same way, because back before he died the first time, he was pretty much my big brother. But if I don't try to recruit everyone and tell them what they are, they won't stand a chance and we'll never be able to defeat the bad guys and get everything back to how it should be."

Erika, like everyone else present, just sort of stared at the demon, or whatever Flying Mint Bunny was. "What are you talking about?", Ludwig questioned, breaking the silence.

"What are you?", Erika quickly added.

Looking around, it explained in a hushed voice "I'm a Nation like you guys. Okay, well, Micronation, but same thing, really. Except I never died, and the bad guys don't really know how to capture or kill me, and I really don't know if they even know what I am, but they can't do much to me so I just sort of go around and try to take them down."

"You're a Nation Scout?", Kiku questioned. "Then why are you taking that form?"

Flying Mint Bunny, whatever he was, laughed awkwardly. "See, my powers sort of got jammed up, and I haven't been able to take human form ever since," he explained. "Just, like, don't tell anyone about this. Like I said, no clue if they actually know or not. Depends how much they could get out of the Nordics."

"If this is true, then why are you telling us all this?", Erika countered. "You have no reason to trust us so much!"

"Because I want you to trust me, so I'm not gonna hide anything from you," he stated. "E-Erika, I was trying to tell you, we're going to rescue some people from the bad guys' base, but I don't think just the five of us can do it alone. I was thinking, since you want to help your brother, maybe we could find a way to do that if you came with us?"

Gaping, Erika stumbled backwards. The gun she was pointing at Flying Mint Bunny, along with the rest of that dreadful power, fell away. "Is that even possible?", she questioned.

"Dunno, but we can sure try," "Flying Mint Bunny" said.

Looking at everyone else, who all seemed as stunned as she was, she asked in a soft tone "Is that alright with you?"

"Of course!", Feliciano exclaimed. "The more the merrier, right?"

"And we definately need all the help we can get," Ludwig added. "It will certainly be dangerous, though. Are you alright with that?"

A smile came over Erika. Even if it was dangerous, even if she barely knew or trusted these people, it was hope, and that was all she had. "Yes. Of course."

"Okay! It's settled! Erika, welcome to Team Maybe Saving The World!", Alfred practically yelled.

"We need a better team name than that," Kiku flatly remarked.

"Well, let's get something to eat, and then we can talk about better names," Alfred stated before throwing the door to the hamburger shop open and marching inside. The others all followed, but Erika stayed back, as did "Flying Mint Bunny".

"If you're lying to me, or if this is a trap, I'm not going to let you go again," Erika threatened, but the rabbit or whatever it was simply shrugged.

"Fair enough."

Feliciano reopened the door. "Hey, you two coming?", he called.

Erika nodded and entered. The scent of food alone was enough to tell her something was changing.

* * *

 _ **AN- Well, that was a plot twist I didn't mean to drop this early. But, given some things I wanted to do later on, I figured it was best to go ahead and tell you that Flying Mint Bunny is actually Sealand, who had a transformation mishap. This was my intention from the very beginning. Seriously, go back and read Chapter Three, FMB literally uses one of Sealand's lines about something not being a euphemism for anything. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by how well everyone seemed to receive Liechtenstein, and by how people seemed to actually want her to become part of the main cast. I was afraid you all would dislike my decision to do that, but that's also been my intention from the very start. I tried to make sure her backstory reflected Liech's thing about being found off the streets, barely alive by Switzerland, but also sort of showing why she was so aggressively neutral in the conflict. I also wanted to give some of the enemy characters, specifically Turkey, some proof that they're nice people.**_

 _ **But, enough about that all. Next chapter's gonna be another bonus one, and it'll be from Prussia's POV. Because there's someone I want to transform soon, and I think it's high time they stop being forgotten about. Surprisingly, it's not Canada. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, some people have been asking about my update schedule. I try not to keep one, but I make attempts to update one every three days, though I was doing every other day during Christmas Break. But that's over, so I'll be updating around twice a week, maybe more, but don't hold me to anything because I get busy/lazy/writer's block. Also, don't expect long chapters like the last few to be the norm. I try to get over 2K, and if it's more, then great, but if it isn't that much more, then also great.**_


	25. P2- Connection Theory

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter Two- Connection Theory_

Gilbert noticed a few very interesting things about his new roommate as he somehow managed to eat and check his email at the same time. Like that he possessed some magical ability to pretty much use an entire bottle of maple syrup on a single stack of pancakes and not find it too sweet. And that he apparently found it necessary to try to email his college professors about the work he was missing in classes despite the fact that he was probably magic.

"Eh, is there a reason you're staring at me?", Matthew questioned softly.

He simply shrugged. "Well, I'm sort of wondering when you're gonna realize you used an entire thing of actual syrup on like, five pancakes."

"Oh, don't worry, I brought quite a bit," he was assured with a smile. "I order the stuff in bulk, so it isn't even that expensive, so don't worry about that either."

"But, like, that stuff's super sweet, right?", Gilbert questioned. "Does it even taste good like that?"

With a laugh, Matthew shoved his laptop aside and the plate towards Gilbert. "Well, I've grown accustomed to using enough to drown out the taste of Arthur's cooking, but I think it tastes alright. Try it if you want."

Gilbert picked up a fork and speared a small piece of the fairly soggy pancake off. It was probably sweet enough to give someone a cavity, but was actually pretty good. "Okay, I see your point," he conceded. "Overkill, sure, but I kinda like it. Maybe not quite up to my levels of awesome, but-"

"Ehe, I see you haven't changed much," Matthew chuckled.

Changed? From what? Gilbert was drawing a blank, expressed by a flat "huh?"

Matthew looked back at his computer screen, drawing it closer. "When I met you before," he explained. "Remember, at that party with Francis, you kept going on about how awesome the food was."

Vaguely, he remembered an awkward birthday dinner a year or so prior. Francis had invited some guy he didn't know who didn't say much and had seemed to have been a bit uncomfortable. The whole night had been a big blur, and he couldn't remember for the life of him what that guy had been to Francis, but very distinctly remembered his bright blue eyes. Which didn't line up with the dull violet eyes Matthew had, but maybe he was wearing contacts? Okay, he had glasses on, so that didn't make any sense, so maybe he was just remembering it wrong. "Oh, that was you? Well, I guess you looked familiar. But why were you there? You friends with Franny or something?"

"Um, well…" Matthew muttered the words and began typing something on his laptop. "Did he never mention me?"

He sounded a bit upset as he said it, like he'd expected him to have said a lot more than literally nothing at all. "Well, he's mentioned your older brother," Gilbert added. "Probably you too, but my memory's crap if I don't write it down."

"He didn't talk about me much, did he?", Matthew questioned, sounding less upset and more genuinely hurt. "I mean, I guess it's not really something you'd keep bringing up, but the guy practically raised me!"

Wait, they were really that close? But he couldn't remember Francis acknowledging that Matthew even existed before or after that dinner thing. They'd been friends for years, so why didn't he know Francis was that close to someone? He pressed further. "Really? Then why didn't I know about it? Someone like you at leasts deserves to come up when talking to his most awesome friend, right?"

Matthew sighed. "I- I don't know. Really, it'd be like you never telling one of your friends about the Vargas's, or something. He's been friends with Arthur since before our mom and Arthur's dad married, and Alfred and I always bothered him and treated him like a second big brother or something. I mean, I know that after all that with Arthur we haven't been nearly as close, and I haven't even talked to him in ages, but surely before that he'd-"

"Wait, what with Arthur?", Gilbert interrupted. "He's only mentioned the guy like, once to say he was an a-hole. What, did they break up or something?"

That last part had been a joke. Matthew didn't seem to take it as such, and nodded between bites of his syrup breakfast with some pancake. "That's actually exactly what happened. After years and years of not being subtle at all about how they felt, they started dating, and they were happy for a little while before they just sort of fell apart. Had some big fight about it, and I don't even know what it was really about, but just that they haven't spoken to each other since."

A theory struck Gilbert, and he anxiously pressed to see if it was correct. "Was it like, 'bout a year ago?"

"Eh, that sounds about right."

"So that's why he kept ditching us!", Gilbert exclaimed, proud of his deduction. So all that with him skipping out on plans randomly hadn't been because he'd said or done something that made Francis want to stop hanging out with him. Which meant Antonio had been right, and he probably owed him money for that. "God, he never even told us he had a boyfriend," he grumbled, like he was more bitter about Francis's secret keeping than his own fears being unfounded. "I mean, Toni said that was probably it, but I never bought it. Just figured he was getting tired of us."

Evidently, Matthew didn't overlook that last muttered bit. "Are you alright?", he questioned with all the concern of a person who he'd known for more than a few days.

"But who would ditch someone as cool as me, really?", Gilbert continued, trying to perpetuate the bluff.

That didn't seem to be what Matthew had thought he was worried about, though, judging by his choice of comforting words. "You know, it was sort of inevitable they'd break up. They were always at each other's throats before they got together, and they didn't stop when they were dating. I don't know a lot about your brother and his friend, but it didn't look like that was how they were."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what I told him," Gilbert assured him, but those words had planted a nagging seed at the back of his mind that doubted his push for his brother to admit how he felt was a good thing. He hadn't been worried about that before, and he still doubted that it was possible, but he was sure not grateful that idea had been planted! "I know what I'm doing. I give good advice!", he declared more to himself than Matthew.

Said Matthew continued to look at him like he was being very obvious with his internal freakout. "...Really, are you sure you're alright?"

"No, it's just weird," Gilbert muttered. He was alright, but something occurred to him. Feli and Ludi were mirroring Arthur and Francis, and that wasn't the only creepy coincidence he'd seen since all this magic stuff had started. "Like, all the magic things seem to be connected, right? Practically half the people I know are involved." Slowly, pieces clicked into place. "And I haven't heard from Francis since this all started. So, do you think he might be part of this?"

"Wouldn't surprise me," Matthew admitted. "Nothing else seems to be logical, so it'd be nice if at least this one thing was a reasonable thing to assume. Do you think if we called him and asked-"

Gilbert's phone was already in his hand before Matthew had finished the sentence. "Dunno. I'll try 'im again," he declared with a smirk.

Everything would have gone beautifully had Francis actually answered. But he didn't. It just went to a default voicemail that didn't sound at all like the one his friend had used for the past while.

So he shrugged it off. "Eh, it was just a theory. We can try later." He glanced at the clock on his phone as he said this, and remembered something as he noted what it read. "Besides, it's what, eleven? I was gonna go up to Ludi's school and try to convince one of his teachers to excuse his absences or whatever. He was sort of worried about that, for some reason."

Matthew glanced back at his computer and seemed to jab F5 a few times before giving the now standing Gilbert an unamused glance. "Well, it's nice that he's thinking ahead, but how exactly are you planning to manage to convince someone that he's off saving the world?"

"Simple: I'm friends with his Home Ec teacher."

"And you think that will make them believe you about all this?"

Clearly, he'd never met Liz. "I have a sword I can show her, don't I? Besides, this probably isn't the weirdest thing I've told her."

That seemed to pique Matthew's interest enough to turn him away from the computer screen. "What would that be?"

Okay, that would require some thought. "Maybe when she actually believed me when I told her our friend Roderich had asked me out back in twelfth grade?", he mused as he grabbed the coat on the back of his desk chair and slipped it on. "No, wait, it that time Gilbird stole her phone."

A disbelieving glance was cast at the birdcage next to Gilbert's computer. "Wait, really?"

"Yep! She's a lot more awesome than she looks," Gilbert proudly bragged. Opportunities to gush about his precious bird child were not to be squandered. Normally, such things were only reserved for his diary and an uninterested Ludwig, but now someone was actually listening who seemed to care! "I've seen her trying to draw with a pen and a post-it note before. And it was adorable."

"Ehe, that's pretty cool," Matthew admitted, chuckling and smiling as his eyes followed Gilbird's pecking around. "I didn't realize canaries were that smart."

"Well, I've had her for like, ten years now." He started to feel a bit guilty as his eyes fell on the sleeping Fritz. He couldn't let his other bird feel unloved, even if it wasn't listening. "Fritz is younger, and significantly less awesome, but I love her too."

Matthew gave a confused look. "Fritz is a girl?"

"Well, yeah," Gilbert stated flatly. What else would she be? "The girl ones don't sing. A singing one would have driven Ludi insane."

Luckily, Matthew clarified the source of his confusion. "No, but you named a girl bird Fritz?"

"It's a majestic name for a majestic creature," Gilbert stated matter-of-factly as he neared the front door. "Your point is?"

"N-nothing. But, um, is it really okay for me to stay here while you're out?"

Despite being confused for a moment, Gilbert soon realized that Matthew was, in fact, not getting ready to head out. "Aren't you coming with me?"

"Is that alright? I don't want to intrude on your conversation with your friend…"

Gilbert threw the neatly folded jacket on the back of the couch to Matthew like an invitation. "Well, I'm gonna need someone else to help explain all this, cause I really don't get it."

"I don't either!", Matthew protested, but he was already standing up and putting the borrowed jacket on.

"Two wrongs make a right, I guess," Gilbert stated with a shrug.

One car trip later, and after some annoying talks with a school receptionist, the two of them were walking into a door with a name plate next to it reading "Miss Hedervary", which made Gilbert crack up a little. Elizaveta was standing over some desks with a container of cleaning wipes, muttering something that was probably a bit rude under her breath. Gilbert noted that she was still wearing the engagement ring Roderich had given her a few months ago, and he tried very hard not to feel bitter about it. Liz looked up after a moment, and assumed a smirk.

"Oh, so you can't be bothered to call in to say your brother's sick or something but you can be bothered to come all the way up here?", she sarcastically questioned.

"Look, it's a really long story," he said with a shrug. "One of those things you probably wouldn't believe if it was coming from anyone other than me."

Liz gained a curious glint in her eyes. "Oh, do tell. Does it involve Feliciano as well, because he hasn't been here either."

"Well, for one, and this isn't part of it, I finally won that bet with Lovino."

He half feared that wouldn't be enough to tell her what he was referring to. The small squeal she let out said otherwise. "Ah, took them long enough!", she exclaimed. "What happened? Which of them confessed? Please, tell me all of it!"

"Um, Gilbert, this isn't really a good time for catching up," Matthew interrupted softly.

Glancing behind him, Liz's grin turned a bit sinister. "Oh, who's he?"

"Part of the really long story, I'll get to that," Gilbert assured her.

"Well, if it's gonna take that long, why don't we discuss it over lunch?", Liz suggested. "I'm on lunch break, and I'm not going to just stand around and waste it."

"It's not that long," Gilbert admitted. "Just give me like, five minutes and I'll get there, I swear-"

"Plus there's a nice sandwich place just a block away, so we can walk," Liz continued, unfazed by his protests.

That was Liz-nese for "this is your story so you're buying", so he just shrugged and they exited from the classroom's back door into a courtyard, and from that into a parking lot. He tried to describe the events that had led to their long standing OTP of FeliLudi becoming an actual thing as they did so, but he stopped the second he realized that Matthew had stopped walking.

"Hey, you alright?", he questioned, turning back to his friend.

He saw someone standing in front of Matthew, someone who looked a little familiar but had the posture of a corpse and eyes like one too. What was the guy, Feliks something? He was Ludwig's manager, or at least had been, but he was pretty sure he remembered him being a bit less… zombie-looking.

"Are you here to attack us or something?", he questioned. No answer was given. Just a dull green stare, followed by a spiral of flame around the guy's hand.

"What are you-?" Liz turned around and turned white when she saw that person. "Feliks? What- how are you doing that? Are you okay?"

He responded with a burst of flame that came a bit too close to Gilbert's face. What was that thing he had done a few days ago when that gun guy was shooting at Ludwig? The thing that ended with him getting a sword out? 'Cause he sort of needed that now.

No, the horrified look on Elizaveta's face told him he needed something else. He didn't need to counterattack, he just needed to block the attacks and find out what was going on. So, a warm light within him covered him in hard scales of metal, forming armor around his body. That Feliks guy looked surprised, almost entranced by the transformation, but the glazed over look in his eyes returned quickly.

"What was that?", she questioned.

"Magic, I think," Matthew, who had ran back over towards them in the confusion explained.

Another burst of flame came, but Gilbert reached out to block it. Whatever this armor was, it was pretty heat resistant, at least. And despite not having a mirror on hand, he had to imagine it looked pretty awesome too.

Liz looked at their attacker for a moment before muttering "Feliks, are you even awake?", she questioned, and a bright white light started to envelop her as well, spreading from her ring finger and covering her completely.

* * *

 _ **AN- You know what's fun about ending parallel chapters on cliffhangers? You all won't get to find out what happens or what's going on right away when I post the next chapter. No, you'll just have to wait for the next bonus chapter to find out what's going on here. Let's just say that you shouldn't be too worried about Poland, 'cause the next parallel chapter is his POV. But enough of that, we need to get back to the main plot.**_

 _ **I'll just leave you with confirming a suspicion any Fairy Tail fan might have regarding Prussia's powers. Meaning yes, they are based on Erza's Requip Magic. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	26. White Waves

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twenty Three- White Waves_

Erika's presence made Kiku feel nebulously guilty. How much she'd enjoyed the terrible motel they had stayed at, how much she enjoyed those old history textbooks he'd stuck in with their stuff, how much she was genuinely grateful for Feliciano letting her borrow his clothes despite them not fitting her particularly well; it just all seemed a bit painful to watch. He was happy they could help her out, sure, but it all just felt a bit off.

Still, there was a different elephant in the room that made him not nearly as focused on how choppy their team dynamics seemed now. Or rather, there was a green rabbit in the car that he was very interested in. He'd basically just assumed it was any old Kero-chan or Luna, and desperately hoped it hadn't been a Kyubey, but it seemed that really neither was the case, and he really wanted to know more about what exactly he was.

And since they were on the road again, with Feliciano asleep on Ludwig's shoulder and Erika buried in one of said textbooks, it seemed to be a good time to interrogate it further.

"So, Flying Mint Bunny," he started, regarding the creature perched on the dashboard. "Would you mind explaining a bit more what exactly your duties as a 'micronation' consist of?"

It sort of shrugged. "Well, nothing, really. We're defenders born from patriotic feelings like you guys, but we don't have all that much to defend, so once you all started dying off and getting reincarnated, we started trying to save you all."

"'We'?", Kiku repeated. "Are there more of you?"

"Well, there were," Flying Mint Bunny explained, eyes glazed over and focused on the window. "For a while, I was travelling with my friends Seborga and Wy, and we were trying to help everyone, but Seborga started to get worried about his brothers and wanted to try and go protect them, so we split up."

As it said "brothers", it cast a pained look towards the sleeping Feliciano. The sound of flipping pages and a soft "Oh!" heralded an explanation for this. "Seborga is located in Italy, isn't it?", Erika questioned.

"There's stuff in there about micronations?", Flying Mint Bunny inquired brightly. "Let me see!"

Erika shook her head. "No, I just remember reading that," she explained, examining what seemed to be a map. "I was just trying to figure out who else you were talking about."

"Well, there were always two Nation Scouts for Italy," Flying Mint Bunny stated. "Veneziano and Romano, or North and South Italy; they were brothers, and Seborga was really close to them."

"Oh? Really?", Feliciano half yawned, proving to not actually be asleep. "I guess that's why Lovino can do that weird power stealing thing. I'm the one that isn't the Roma-whatever, right?"

Flying Mint Bunny nodded. "Never knew you two particularly well, but you're a lot more like the North one."

"So what happened to Seborga?", pressed Ludwig, who was still evidently reading the Cardcaptor Sakura manga Kiku had suggested to him the day prior. "If he was trying to protect them, why is this the first we're hearing about him?"

"Well, from what I heard, he kind of got killed before he could get very far with that," Flying Mint Bunny explained, sounding a bit too blunt for discussing a dead friend. "Wy was with him too, and I don't know where she ended up, but I haven't seen her since."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Feliciano sit up and lean forward, elbows resting on the center console. "So this guy would have been my other brother?", he said rather softly. "What was he like?"

"I'm sure you would have liked him, but you'll meet him someday!", Flying Mint Bunny affirmed. "I mean, he's probably been reincarnated already, since he died so long ago!"

The chipper tone sounded forced and somewhat pained, so Kiku decided to change the topic to something else burning in his mind. "Ah, so, I'd been meaning to ask, what is your actual name? Surely there isn't a 'Principality of Flying Mint Bunny'."

Alfred laughed loudly at that. "That would be super cool, though!", he added. "Seriously, you should rename your place that."

"What's wrong with 'Sealand'?", the green rabbit protested. "I mean, it's my name, and it's a good name, and it's definitely better than 'Flying Mint Bunny'!"

Erika giggled. "So, does that mean you're the spirit of a boat?"

"The Principality of Sealand is not a boat, actually!", "Sealand" protested. "It's an abandoned sea fort! There is a difference!"

"I just find it a bit underwhelming that you're supposed to be some magical guide and you aren't even a proper country," Erika muttered.

Apparently, this was some sort of trigger word for Sealand, as he started hovering in Erika's face and yelling "Well excuse me, miss 'my flag got confused with Haiti's at the Olympics'! I haven't really had time to try to get other Countries to recognize me since they've been, you know, dead and all!"

His shouts were ignored, so after a bit more of that, he floated back to the dashboard, sitting there and glaring at Erika.

Kiku was prepared to boot up the old Game Boy Advanced he'd brought again and continue to level up his Marshtomp and Skitty, but Alfred's constant glancing towards the rear view mirror stopped him. He looked backwards out of curiosity, and saw that a rather old looking car with paint so chipped and weathered he wasn't sure if he should call it red or pink.

More alarming, however, was the faces he could see faintly through the other car's window. The driver was very clearly Russia, and the passengers Ukraine and someone else he couldn't quite see.

"Some jerk's tailgating me," muttered Alfred. Kiku attempted to warn him of who they were, but the blond cut him off with a sideways smirk, and taunting threat. "Maybe I should just slam the breaks and let them slam into me, see how they like tha-"

His threat was cut off by a sudden flutter in the rear view mirror, of scarves exactly like the ones that Ukraine had attacked them with when they'd first learned of Feliciano's powers. Two sets seemed to extend: one from the open front passenger window of the car trailing them and the other from the same car's back windows. They extended into the air and wrapped around their own car, blocking the windows from light.

"Ah, what do I do?", Alfred frantically questioned.

"Hit the gas, and if that doesn't work, I'll open a window and cut them up myself," Ludwig directed.

The screeching of tires indicated the orders were followed, but no forward motion seemed to occur. If anything, the car was going slower, and then stopping all together. So Ludwig rolled down his window as white light burst around him, and silver needles rushed at the oncoming scarves.

That, however, must have not done much, as despite the fact the scarves became less thick, it seemed that a series of wires not unlike those Germany used wrapped up the car instead.

"Okay, let me try!", Alfred offered, not bothering with the gas anymore. He transformed as well, and rolled down his own window to assault the wires and scarves with a series of small explosions. It must have broken the ties enough, because he was able to push open his door and exit the vehicle.

Despite being unsure of what exactly he was doing, Kiku climbed over the console to follow him, and found that Alfred had gotten out his own gun and was attempting to shoot at the enemy car while its passengers got out. The bullets bounced off far too harmlessly for a car of that make, and once Alfred finally realized how useless his attacks were on the metal, didn't do too much more to Russia.

"What's your problem, anyways?", Alfred questioned loudly. "We're just driving, is that a problem?"

Russia gave a broad smile as he opened the left-back seat door. "Well, your friends have given mine a lot of trouble," he explained calmly. "It's your fault Natalya and Toris aren't here, so my sister, my friend, and I are here to make sure you don't hurt anyone else. Right, China?"

"China?", Kiku repeated. Wasn't that what Yao had said he was? No, he had to have heard wrong, there was no way that Yao could be involved with the enemies.

The wires receded as Kiku's brother got out of the back seat. He was clearly transformed, wearing a uniform and with what had to be the strangest transformation trinket Kiku could possibly imagine strapped to his back. Despite how his heart was racing, as he transformed without thinking, Kiku wanted to laugh. He'd thought his cat bell was the most embarrassing thing possible to draw power from, but a stuffed panda had to be a thousand times worse.

That didn't change the fact that his brother was pretty clearly on the enemies' side, though, and that was enough to restrict his chuckles. "How did you get involved in all of this?", Kiku questioned as calmly as he could.

Yao wouldn't meet his gaze. "They told me if I didn't help them track you they'd kill both of us," he stated plainly. "Though I almost doubt they won't do that anyways."

"Who said that?", Kiku pressed. "Who's threatening this?"

The only answer he got was Yao summoning a weapon almost identical to Germany's whip. "Fight me," he urged almost robotically. "We have to… there isn't another way."

There was absolutely no way he would fight his brother, but there was someone else he was more than happy to fight. A current of water seemed to come from his very heart, surging like a tidal wave. That energy was sent straight towards Russia, who was merely watching the scene with interest.

It knocked him back, but all the water around him quickly turned to ice and shot straight back towards Kiku and Alfred. Yao mirrored the ice attack exactly, the whip morphing into a metal staff that looked more like a sink's faucet than a weapon. The chill almost burned, but America removed it with a quick series of fiery booms.

"What's going on?", Ludwig questioned from somewhere behind them.

"Eh? Is that Yao?", Feliciano added.

"Be careful!", Sealand warned. "You're fighting two really dangerous countries! Russia's a really experienced G8, and China's just as powerful due to his skills."

Those skills must have been imitation, as just as America's blasts cleared, Yao replicated them, the faucet turning into a pistol. It was quite clear he wasn't aiming to kill, or even injure, but merely provoking them into attacking further.

"What are you doing?", Kiku demanded, water rushing in his ears from no source but himself. "Please, just let Yao be and we'll be on our way!"

Russia shook his head, and a violet aura seemed to pierce the air, beckoning the storm of power in Kiku's soul to unleash itself. "But don't you see? We need you to show us all of what you're capable of. It's the only way to find the HRE, and that's much easier if you have a reason to want to harm me."

Rage and salt and storms throbbed within that abstract concept that held Japan's powers. It was exactly what they wanted to see, but if he truly gave it his all, would that make them leave his brother be?

"I will gladly provide that," he coolly stated as raindrops began to drip from the blade he was barely aware he had drawn. He let a flurry of cuts come forth, each of which Russia dodged with a simple step back. The water escalated into fog and lightning, each pulsing from the metal sphere resting against his throat. If he was truly to put his heart into this, would it save Heracles too?

Without thinking, without feeling, his power kept leaking out. Japan was unleashing every last drop of water he had onto a target he was barely aiming for, and over the rushing water, he could hear someone pleading with him to stop, telling him that he'd hurt himself if he kept up this pace.

He couldn't have stopped if he wanted to, though. Energy was flooding out of his body in white waves and yellow bolts. It swirled around him like a tornado, biting him like wind, pummeling like hail, and he was sure his own body was receiving the brunt of the attack. Everything started to feel very faint, and the great power started to ebb away, his attacks becoming less and less spectacular.

Kiku felt all the water falling away, and was barely aware of his consciousness doing the same. The last thing he could remember was Russia chuckling, asking "Now, would anyone else like to try?"

* * *

 ** _AN- Okay, let me just quickly explain. One of Russia's powers is a sort of power-interference that can either make another Nation Scout either use far more of their power than they should, to the point of complete exhaustion or not be able to use it well at all. Think Ty Lee's anti-bending chi-blocking stuff from Avatar, but, like, the opposite of that. Also, China's not really evil but sort of being coerced into helping them? Yeah, sorry China fans. It had to happen. But thanks to Amethyst for the FABULOUS idea to make a stuffed panda his Catalyst. Also, the fact that he's paired with Russia means nothing, though. Just that Russia happened to want revenge for his little sister and China is convenient to help provoke Japan. Not RoChu, just happening to be working together. And by working together, I of course mean being forced via threats to loved ones to attack others together. Sorry to Seborga fans too, but it's a bit early to apologize for Wy. She is my favorite of the Micronations, after all. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	27. Blood-Stained Walls

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twenty Four- Blood-Stained Walls_

When Kiku's body hit the asphalt, surrounded by a receding puddle of the water he'd nearly killed everyone with, it had been absolutely terrifying. Russia's laugh and innocent question of if anyone wanted to go next didn't help ease things, nor did the absolute mortification on Yao's face as he seemed to realize what he'd done to his brother. Alfred, for once, actually was helpful and scooped Kiku off the ground before anything else could happen and dashed in front of them, turning back to Russia and sneering.

"Look, we'd love to, but we've gotta run," he taunted, and that seemed to be a signal to fall back. Ludwig would have objected, but he knew perfectly well this was a battle they were better off running from, and honestly, he was just glad that Alfred was actually being reasonable for once.

He grabbed Feliciano's hand, tugging him away from his seemingly blank stares at the scene. Oddly, as they fled back into the car, their enemies made no attempt to stop them. Were they being allowed to leave? The whole thing filled him with an odd dread, but it wasn't the time to dwell on such things.

"Idea!", the green rabbit that called himself Sealand exclaimed as they got back into the car, which had been pushed forward a bit by Kiku's storm. "Feli, Erika, you guys have projectiles, right? So, like, you get the back windows down and shoot at them out of it, got it?"

"What gives you the idea they're following us?", Erika countered, glancing backwards. "I mean, they look like they're letting us-"

She was cut off by a slamming door and revving engine, both caused by Russia. She stopped herself there and followed the rabbit's commands. Getting in the vehicle and looking ahead, Ludwig could only think of how a straight, open path could only make them an easy target, and quickly grabbed a road atlas out of Kiku's book bag and instead got into the passenger seat.

"We need to avoid the main roads," Ludwig directed, flipping desperately through the pages to find the small highway they were on. "Alfred, as soon as there's a place to turn off, do so. I'll try to make sure we don't get too off track, but let's try to take a route they won't be able to follow."

Alfred turned the keys and gave a nod. "Got it. I'll slam on the gas too!"

The car sped off, breaking the speed limit by about twenty miles per hour before Erika cried out "Please, don't do that! If we get caught speeding, well, um, that would be bad."

A glance at the indication that the gas tank was half-empty provided Ludwig with another point. "Not to mention we'll have to stop for gas eventually, and going that quickly will only make it happen faster."

With a groan and mutter of "Car chases are supposed to be cool, you know," Alfred slowed down to a decently fast cruising speed.

A rather agonizing period followed, in which literally nothing interesting happened.

Despite that, it was still immensely stressful. Italy and Liechtenstein would shoot for short bursts before getting tired out and de-transforming for a moment before trying again. He would attempt to tell Alfred where to go on roads neither of them had the slightest clue the destination of. Kiku remained unconscious in the back seat, and other than the fact that he was breathing fine, generally just made Ludwig stress more about if everything would be alright. Every time they would lose the beat-up car trailing them, they'd have to stop for gas, or they'd take a wrong turn, or something would happen and they'd catch back up.

The previous day, Ludwig had been annoyed at how little there was to do. He had come to accomplish a goal, and as little as he cared about that goal, he wanted to at least feel as if he was making progress towards it. And now, he certainly felt like they were getting things done, but all things considered, he would have much rather been reading that silly manga in the back seat with Feliciano curled up next to him.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of looking at a map and yelling at the idiot in the driver's seat, and by which time the sun was already extremely low in the sky, Kiku finally stirred and let out a groan of pain before looking about in confusion. "What happened?", he asked, still sounding rather dazed. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Sort of," Feliciano explained. "I mean, you sort of passed out in the middle of the street, but I guess you can call that falling asleep, right?"

Kiku only seemed more confused. "E-excuse me? How did that happen? I don't remember getting out of the car."

"You don't?", Alfred questioned, making a movement like he meant to turn back before realizing the dirt road they were on was too twisty to do such a thing. "But, like, you were super awesome! Russia attacked you and then you basically made a hurricane in the middle of a highway! How could you forget that?"

After a few confused blinks, Kiku nodded. "I suppose that might explain why everything hurts," he muttered. "But Russia attacked us? While we were driving? Why can I not recall that?"

"You overloaded your magic," huffed Sealand. "I warned you, but you kept going, and you went way over what your human body can handle processing. Denmark used to do that all the time so, like, if you have some black spots in your memory or run a high fever and feel like crap, it's your own fault."

"But why would I do such a thing?", Kiku questioned. "I should have known better than to test my limits, right?"

There was a simple explanation, but the pained silence, only punctuated by Erika's shots out the window, clearly stated that no one wanted to tell Kiku why he'd been willing to go to such extremes. Ludwig certainly didn't know how to explain to someone that they'd forgotten being forced to fight against their own brother.

"It was Russia's power!", Sealand explained, much to everyone's relief. "He can make other Countries overload their power! He can block it too, and that, well, that's why I'm a tiny green invisible magic thing, but hey, I mean, well, I don't get how it lasts this long, but I never knew much about all this magic stuff anyways."

Erika deactivated her powers and looked at Sealand before snickering. "So you're admitting you don't know what you're doing?"

"I never denied it!", he countered.

They probably would have gone at it if Russia hadn't chosen that moment to speed up, making Feliciano jump and start shooting again. Looking backwards, Kiku seemed for a moment like he was going to ask what was going on before simply shaking his head and looking back forward. "Ah, so, if we're being chased, do I need to do anything to help?"

"Not really," Alfred said. "We've got it covered. It's sort of getting late, though, so if you could maybe grab a Coke out of the snacks back there for me, that'd be cool."

A few seconds later, Kiku handed a can to the driver, who shoved it towards Ludwig. "Open this for me," he ordered. Ludwig did so with copious amounts of chagrin, handed it back to him, and looked back at the tangled road maps as he pretty much downed the thing.

"Okay, so, if I start to fall asleep, just throw another one of those at me," Alfred directed no one in particular.

"I can switch with you next time we stop," Ludwig offered.

"Or, actually, anyone know where this is?" Sealand asked.

Glancing at the map again, Ludwig muttered "Well, we just passed Bellville- or was that Mapleton?- so we should be somewhere around Mayview."

"Awesome!", the rabbit exclaimed. "I know where that is! There's a place we should be able to stop for the night up ahead."

Alfred glanced in the rear-view mirror. "Seriously? They're like, right on us,"

"It'll be fine, and I don't think they'd find it," Sealand explained. "This is like, right around where Estonia and Latvia lived, so it shouldn't be a big deal to stop there. And it's like, out of the way, so if we can lose them, it shouldn't be hard for them to overlook us."

The shots in the back seat became more energetic and frequent. Russia's car began to fall back a bit. "And if they don't?", Erika countered, casting a sideways glare at the rabbit.

"Then we run again."

"Fair enough."

They increased to a speed that was hardly safe, let alone legal, and Alfred followed the directions of a green rabbit down a rather winding path that seemed like no one had gone down in ages, much like they'd been doing for the past agonizing hours. The entire thing was nerve wracking, and maybe a terrible idea, but the prospect of not staying up all night to continue like this was tempting enough for him to ignore that.

A very overgrown house appeared in front of them after a moment, and Ludwig stopped doubting that Sealand was right about it being hard to find. Really, it would have surprised him if anyone at all knew such a place existed, given how many turns had to be made in such an unpopulated area to find it.

"Isn't there anywhere else we can stay?", Feliciano questioned as they got out. "This place looks creepy."

"It's actually really nice on the inside," Sealand assured them, hovering out front. "Sure, no one's lived here for a while, but it's probably just a little dusty."

Ludwig felt compelled to fall back and allow Feliciano to reach for his hand. It was part of that unspoken contract he still couldn't believe had been forged between them that he'd protect him, even if it was from something a simple as an ivy-ridden house.

Those fears seemed a lot less simple when Ludwig actually saw what was inside the place. Only faint light illuminated it, but it was clear that the previous inhabitants hadn't left without a fight. The entire thing looked like a battle scene, with holes blown through the wall and furniture turned to broken splinters and a crimson splatter upon the wallpaper.

"Can I stay in the car?", Feliciano begged, tugging on Ludwig's hand. "I don't wanna sleep in a place like this."

"It's better than getting chased around all night," Erika offered. "And I'm sure the other rooms are nicer, but it's fine if you don't want to stay here."

Another, unfamiliar voice filled the air. "No, the other rooms are just as bad," someone said.

Feliciano practically jumped into Ludwig, who looked around to find the source of the voice. "Show yourself!", Kiku ordered.

A blond man wearing glasses and a militaristic uniform stepped out of the shadows. "I'm very sorry this place is such a mess," he apologized. "I wanted to clean, but Mister Russia said it would add to the atmosphere if I left it like it was."

"Estonia!", Sealand cried out. "Um, is this a trap, 'cause if so, I'd like to remind you that I sort of stopped your little brother from dying that one time and I helped you and Toris a lot and also please just let us leave and we won't bug you."

"I would, but Lithuania is on death row as is," Estonia stated. "So very sorry about all of this."

A lattice of scarves filled the air, surely the work of an unseen Ukraine and possibly China imitating it as well. The bloodied, broken room was inescapable, save for the front exit, which Russia had just entered from.

"It was a good idea to chase them here," Russia stated, holding something that looked a bit too much like a sink pipe in his hand. "Nice, easy place to find out who the HRE is. Now, who should I test first?"

He had said something like that when he'd attacked Kiku earlier, but with Feliciano only feet from him, it seemed like the threat was meant very specifically for him. There was only one answer to this.

"Don't even think about it!", Ludwig cried, shoving Feliciano aside and charging Russia himself in a burst of light. His weapon appeared in his hand, turning to a poleaxe that would have rammed the enemy's stomach if it hadn't been knocked aside by a spear.

Estonia held a weapon that looked more like a giant pencil than an actual weapon, but it seemed to serve the same purpose. Or, at least enough to stop him from reaching Russia. "Thank you," Russia coldly muttered. "I'll finish this up."

Violet flames seemed to dance in the air, reaching into Ludwig and turning his insides cold. It felt like needles were ripping into him, and they seemed to be ripping into the air, marking the already damaged walls with fine specks of silver.

The weapon in his hand kept changing, from a lance to an axe to a sword and back again. It melted and reformed, and without thinking, he seemed to force a metallic crystal out of the ground.

This broke Russia's grip enough to stop the power drain, but he still felt all wrong. The metal crystal faded into light, but instead of his power falling away, more light enveloped Ludwig's form. It faded, leaving something framing his eyes and flowing cloth across his skin.

Everyone simply stared at whatever had transpired, but Feliciano was the only one to actually say anything about it. "You- you're- no, it can't be, right?"

Out of the shattered mirror on the wall, Ludwig could make out that he was wearing a uniform that looked less like anything he'd seen a Nation Scout wear before and more like one of Feliciano's paintings. No, the more he thought about it, the white mask and black hat were from one of those paintings. It was exactly what that hero he'd sworn had saved him when they were young wore. Why would he have taken that form, he wondered.

Russia, however, broke him out his pondering before he could even come up with the slightest bit of reasoning with a creepy chuckle. "It seems my little sister did fight a real person," he exclaimed almost cheerfully. "I wonder if they'll let her go now that they know a Holy Rome exists?"

The power within Ludwig felt different with this new form. The weapon he summoned was a spear, but he wasn't sure he could will it to change like he could before. Turning to Russia, he tried to ram him with it, but was stopped by an icy blast backwards.

Four white flashes came from the others. Alfred rushed in, producing his pistol and shooting at Estonia, who narrowly avoided the bullets. Feliciano also ran towards him to help, but stopped briefly in his tracks as a red flash appeared in his eyes. He then looked at Alfred and shook his head. "No, stop! Don't shoot there, it'll make that lamp fall over and hit Kiku!", he cried, and Alfred stopped moving, looking at him oddly.

"What makes you think that?", Ludwig questioned, trying to think it out how the only lamp left standing would hit Kiku from a few feet away, before realizing that it could probably occur from a shot near Estonia's hand.

Feliciano shook his head. "Um, it just sort of flashed up. I don't really know…"

"Well, don't worry about that," Russia assured him with an odd grin. "We've got what we need here, so we'll be seeing you soon, right?"

The scarves boxing them in fell away, and both Russia and Estonia vanished in bright flashes.

A tight hug enveloped Ludwig as his powers fell away. "That was so cool!", Feli gushed. "I should have known that hero that saved me was you! I mean, you're magic and stuff, and who else would have protected me, right?"

"I- um, well, it's possible that I just took the form by accident," Ludwig countered, feeling heat rushing to his cheeks. "I mean, I have no recollection of that, but I mean, it's, um, possible."

"I guess the 'HRE' they were looking for is you, then?", Erika questioned.

Ludwig nodded. They'd called him "Holy Rome", after all. But then, why did they only leave after Feliciano's vision?

* * *

 _ **AN- So Germany is the Holy Rome everyone's been talking about. Well, that wasn't a surprise at all. But Italy's vision thing is useful for more than just dreams, and that might be. And Estonia's weapon is based on a pencil because he's Himapapa's avatar, and that's the only reason. Speaking of which, I actually did copious amounts of research to make sure Latvia's blood would have still been all over the walls after four years, and that beats Prussian food for "weirdest thing I have had to research for writing". Also, nice job not telling Japan what China did while his memory was fuzzy. That won't come back to bite anyone later. Yep, definitely not. Well, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, I've been thinking, and "Bonus Chapter" seems like a non-indicative term. They're more like Side Chapters or Parallel Chapters, so if anyone thinks I should rename them one of those, tell me. Also, one of those is up next. So get ready for some fun with, like, the most totally awesome character there is.** _


	28. P3- Firebird Controller

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter Three- Firebird Controller_

Several white chalk phoenixes covered the floor. It was all Feliks could think to draw. With that "Catalyst" Toris had given him, he'd been able to test exactly what he could do. Brilliant crimson flames could fill the air from his powers, but if he overdid it, it would leave him tired. It also seemed that the scrapes and bruises the affair that had left him rotting away in the dark cell vanished instantaneously the second he used the powers, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to test the extents of that healing. Fire and healing powers, along with the "reincarnation" the creepy man who called himself "Russia" had tried to explain, filled his head with images of the flaming bird of legend.

There were only so many phoenixes one could draw before attaining the status of Totally and Completely Bored, though. He really wanted nothing more than to get out of that cell, to go find wherever they'd locked up Toris and return to their initial plan of not being bossed around by complete lunatics. Then they could get back to normal, catch up, make up for the four years his only friend had been MIA. Maybe all that would make up for how much he'd missed having someone to really talk to.

Which sounded nice and simple in theory, but Feliks had yet to be able to find a way to actually leave, making the thing he'd wanted for so long both closer than it had been in ages and more unattainable than ever. The tiny little window was way too small to crawl through, even if he could blast through the iron bars covering it. The door was similarly impervious, despite his best efforts with a steady stream of flame. The walls were no better, and he'd attempted all four of them. Even the ceiling and floor were impossible to crack, and he'd even tried using the plastic spoon he'd been given to eat the absolutely terrible food with.

By the time it seemed Russia or whoever finally came back to give him more crap food or another piece of chalk or whatever meaningless consolation it was, he had already tried to plan a way to escape using that. He could just blast whoever it was while the door was open, use their keys, and try every cell until he found Toris, and that would work. Yeah, he might be caught before he could do that, but whatever punishment that led to had to be better than complete boredom, right?

So, he kind of felt terrible when he summoned his powers in a flash of raging light the next time the door cracked open just to find it wasn't someone who wanted to attack him. Rather, it was Toris, smiling slightly and looking a whole lot less bloody and bullet-filled than the last time he'd seen him.

"Did I scare you?", he asked in a voice that sounded odd and echoey, in a way that was almost unnerving.

Feliks stood up and felt a smile coming on himself. "I'm like, fine, alright?", he assured his dearest friend. "You here to get me out?"

Toris shook his head. "Unfortunately not," he said, voice still sounding incredibly wrong, but Feliks couldn't bring himself to question it. He'd sounded weird when he'd come to meet him at the convenience store too, and maybe he was just remembering how that had sounded wrong.

"Well, we're getting out of here anyways," Feliks affirmed. He was met with a confused look. "Oh my god, come on! I totally meant what I said back there. I don't give a damn what or who wants to stop us, but I'm not letting you be the puppet of these creeps anymore, and I'm not gonna be one either, got it?"

An odd sigh came from his friend, who stepped back. "Please, this isn't exactly what I-"

Grabbing Toris's hand shut him up pretty well. "Look, I don't care what you say, but that creep said you're gonna get hurt if you stay here, so we've gotta run now!"

"I'm sure it will be fine," Toris assured him, casting an odd glance to his side. "I only need you to listen to me, so if you'd give me a moment of your time, my dear, then we might get this resolved."

"My dear?" That was new. Had they done something to his head? "Like, what's up with you?", Feliks pressed. "You're acting all weird."

Something struck him when Toris looked to the side again, odd guilt flashing across his face. In a sudden burst, he took his friend's other hand. They felt different than he thought they should have, but then again, they hadn't held hands since grade school, really. "Is this 'cause you tried to attack me back there?", he questioned, burying his gaze into Toris's so he couldn't look away. "That isn't a thing you'd actually do, you know. That wasn't you. The Toris I know wouldn't-"

He was cut off by an obnoxious laugh that sounded absolutely nothing like his friend, yet seemed to come from him anyways. "Oh, you truly still think that I'm that friend of yours, do you?", the person in front of him questioned, sounding horribly condescending. "And I thought this little trick wouldn't work! 'Toris' isn't even in this building, to my knowledge."

"Then who are you?", Feliks demanded, pulling his hands away and curling them into fists at his side. Flames burned through his mind. He was mortified that he hadn't caught this trick sooner; furious that some person would even do something like that.

"If I'd wanted you to know that, I would have come wearing my own face," the false Toris stated. "But I hate to see such a pretty face upset, so I'll make you a deal. I need you to do me a **favor** , and if you can do that, I'll see to it that your friend is safe."

That wasn't the kind of thing Feliks would trust in a million years. But, a 'favor'? That sounded like the kind of thing that might involve getting out of the cell, and that sounded promising, so he nodded, maintaining his glare all the same.

" **There is a man named Gilbert Beilschmidt,** " began the man. His words held an odd sort of resonance, like they were lulling him into listening. " **White hair, red eyes- well, you know him. You've met him, right? Anyways, he's a bit of a sensitive target, and we need to prove that there's no reason to concern everyone with him. You are to use this teleporter to track him down, and that shouldn't be too difficult since the coordinates are already in there.** "

Things started to feel hazy as he involuntarily took the odd device from the man's hand. The words were echoing in his head almost painfully.

" **When you find him, you will attack him, but you are absolutely not to harm him,** " the man continued. " **You are only to fight him for long enough to get a good read on the extent of his powers. Once you have done so, you will report back to me, and then you will return to this cell. If you fail, Toris won't be safe in the slightest. Is that understood?** "

Eyes in front of him pulsed with energy. Nothing was contained within his head but those directions. It wasn't so much the words, but his will that was smothering every individual thought in his mind. Feliks felt like he was falling asleep, but his eyes remained open and his thoughts remained painfully narrowed instead of flying wildly.

 **Take teleporter in hand. Activate coordinates. Ignore the two men standing before you. Forget they exist. Forget they ever existed.**

 **Blink out dazed feeling brought on by transporter. Do not over think surroundings. Recognition is irrelevant.**

(Ah, but this is where Liz works, right?)

 **Recognition is irrelevant.**

 **Target approaches. Target is followed by two people. Target is followed by Matthew Jones-Williams and Elizaveta Hedervary. Do not harm them either, but also do not acknowledge them.**

(That's Liz! Why is she involved in this?)

 **Do not acknowledge them.**

 **Attract attention of Target. Do not be concerned when Matthew Jones-Williams stops behind you.**

 **Produce flame when Target acknowledges you. Ignore the attempts of Elizaveta Hedervary to speak to you.**

(Liz? I- I don't know…)

 **Ignore it.**

 **Send flame near Target, but not close enough to do damage. Study Target's transformation. Study it closely.**

(Feliks admired the brilliant display that enveloped the target in elaborate armor. It was rather beautiful to watch how it formed itself over-)

 **Study it. Do not admire it. Study it.**

 **Target is covered in armor. Target blocks flame with armor. Ignore concerned gaze of Elizaveta Hedervary.**

(Am I… awake?)

 **Observe transformation light coming from Elizaveta Hedervary. Do not express surprise at this development. Her fiance has been a potential target for years and, as surely you can see by now, we tend to flock together.**

 **Add to objections a second target. Observe Elizaveta Hedervary's powers as well.**

 **Target 2 summons weapon. Weapon is a frying pan. This is not surprising. Possible matches are Hungary, Belgium, or Seychelles. Hungary is most likely match. Hungary's known skill sets include brute strength, violent protectiveness, and mind reading.**

(Hey, why are you looking at me like that?)

 **Warning: it appears Target 2 is attempting to read this mind. Warning: resist mind reading as much as possible. Warning: preserve control link.**

Feliks felt something tugging on the edges of the consciousness buried beneath the orders suppressing his own thoughts. The odd sensation that three different voices contained within his mind struck him. One was overwhelming him and the other was searching through files and extending a hand to him. He tried to take it.

 **Resist attempts to awaken. Continue to observe Targets. Do not allow harm to come to Targets.**

The commands were not so much a smothering blanket as they were a net he was struggling to escape. Liz had poked holes in them, but they weren't entirely helping. Feliks was perfectly aware now that he was sending blasts of fire at the Targets, but couldn't stop it.

 **Continue to provoke targets. Confirm Target 1 is not the HRE. This is the prime objective. This is incredibly important.**

"L-Liz," Feliks coughed out the words between orders and flames. "I- I'm- please, help."

 **Target 2 closes eyes. Target 2 smiles slightly.**

 **Warning: Target 2 is attempting to disrupt link. Warning: link has not run to completion. Wa** rni **ng: co** nt **rol** li **nk h** a **s** b **ee** n **dis** rupted...

Like a blinding light after exiting a dark room, Feliks was overwhelmed as the orders in his mind suddenly vanished. It became painfully clear to him that he was standing in a school parking lot attempting to attack his cousin and his employee's older brother.

"You okay?", Liz asked him, her own transformation falling away. "What was going on in there? It was like some weird computer program was telling you to observe our powers or something."

A soft voice interrupted. "Oh, and it wasn't weird that you were able to read his mind?"

"Well, she's always had this sort of creepy sixth sense," Gilbert added. "Can always tell when I'm bugging Roderich too much."

"I, like, really don't know what that was," Feliks said in an attempt to simplify the story. "It was like one minute I was talking to this guy that was trying to trick me into thinking he was Toris and asking me to help him out and the next minute I couldn't think about anything but what he told me to do."

The word "Toris" in particular seemed to concern Liz, and rightfully so given how she knew very well how much his disappearance had devastated Feliks. "Let me at this guy," she huffed. "If all that stuff in your heads anything to judge by, he's after Roderich too, and I won't stand for some mind-controlling freak going after you guys."

Some of what the guy had said before all that mess of directions had overtaken his mind flooded back. Hadn't he said that if he failed Toris would be in danger? "I- I need to get back there," he muttered, trying to search for the transporter he'd held, but found that it had either vanished or burned up with the flames. "The guy said if I messed up Toris was in for it, and I-"

"That can't be right," Liz assured him. "Toris has been gone for years. There's nothing they could do to harm him-"

There she went again with her theory that he'd died. Feliks hadn't believed that for a second, even before he'd seen him again. "No, I saw him!", he corrected. "The other day, he tried to attack me, but he couldn't, and then he-"

The sprays of blood that had painted the asphalt came back in a rush. His dearest friend had gone from more alive than he could have ever hoped to see him again to nearly dead in a matter of seconds. Would a life that precious be taken again? As punishment for how ungrateful a friend he'd been all those years?

No, never. Never again would he let that happen. Toris had been there for him without fail for years and years, even when he didn't deserve it. Toris was the only person he'd felt comfortable around, the only person he really loved.

"Anyways, I need to find a way to save him," he affirmed. "But, like, they'll hurt him if they think I did it, so why don't you like..." He searched for an idea. Maybe they'd hurt Toris for him willingly defecting, but what if it didn't look deliberate? "Take me hostage or something?"

Everyone present looked really confused by that. "I mean, like, so they'll think I didn't come willingly and not hurt him," he explained. Everyone still looked confused, and he started to wonder if it was one of those things that made more sense in his head than it did out loud.

And then a metal burst came from Gilbert's hand as the armor around him dispersed, and coils of wire bound his ankles together. "Yeah, sure," he agreed as Feliks lost his balance and tumbled ungracefully to the ground, the scrapes inflicted by the rough ground healing before they could even be called wounds. Liz elbowed the white-haired man harshly, but Feliks smiled. It was an odd agreement, but it was the only one he could think of.

* * *

 _ **AN- Super special thanks to Amethystfairy1, because she helped me come up with Poland's plan for defection. Well, she'd suggested it as a method pulled off by the Nordics for Iceland's sake, but clearly that couldn't be done because he's already dead. But I'm super grateful for her letting me repurpose that idea to use for Poland and Liet, 'cause I'd planned before that suggestion to just kill Liet off when he got attacked at the end of his chapter. But, Liet and Poland have become some of my favorite characters, so I'm super glad I didn't have to do that. Plus, the fact that the actual countries Hungary and Poland are regarded as "cousins" in some traditional poems and stuff was too cute not to use. Also, that guy with the mind control seems awfully suspicious, right? Well, lucky for you guys, his identity will be revealed within the next couple of chapters if it isn't glaringly obvious already. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	29. Stark Anticipation

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twenty Five- Stark Anticipation_

"…so that's when Liz whipped out a frying pan thing, but she wouldn't beat the crap out of that guy 'cause he's her cousin or something? Instead she just did some mind read-y thing and then he forced us to take him captive so he can make us help him save his boyfriend or something," Gilbert explained over speakerphone to the entire car. "Don't really get it, but now he's staying with us 'cause Liz doesn't feel like explaining all this to Mister Fancy Pants and making him go back to his place would defeat the purpose of being our prisoner. But anyways, the point is, he wanted me to ask you guys to look for a guy named Toris while you're doing your rescue whatever."

"Toris?" Alfred let out a weird laugh. "That's so weird! I knew a guy named that once, and I always thought it was a super weird name, but I guess there actually are more than one-"

A distant voice pierced the speaker. "It's the same guy, dodo!", sending the driver into awkward chuckles.

"Okay, then I know what we're looking for!"

"So do I!", Feliciano added, remembering Feliks's mention of a "Toris" in that dream. "It's that Lithuania guy we fought that one time, 'member?"

Erika smiled slightly. "Oh, so that's his name…", she muttered.

"Well, we'll try to keep an eye out for him," Ludwig sighed into the speaker. "Now, if that's all, we really should be going."

After a brief pause, Gilbert quickly shouted "No, the awesome me has one more thing to bestow upon you, fine peons! Me and Mattie were thinking, like, most of us know Francis, right? So, it'd make sense for him to be part of this, right?"

"Theoretically, yes," Ludwig mused. "But even if it's logical, that doesn't mean much here."

"Well, it was just an idea. Later, losers!"

Even after the phone hung up, Feliciano couldn't help but think about Gilbert's idea. It would be super cool if Francis could be one of their allies, but no one had heard from him since before everything started, or even been able to reach him with phone calls. If he was involved, something might have happened to him, right?

He said something to this effect, and was met with a simple, reassuring, "I'm sure he's fine" from his boyfriend. Alfred, on the other hand, simply chuckled.

"Well, there's one way to find out," he said, tossing Arthur's phone into Feliciano's lap. "If he won't answer us, he'll definitely answer Artie."

"What makes you so sure that will work?", Kiku inquired as Feliciano started looking up the number on his own phone.

A string of "um"s and "er"s proceeded Alfred's explanation. "Well, he wouldn't think Arthur would call him unless it was really important."

"It's under B, not F," Ludwig whispered as Feliciano scrolled back and forth in the contacts, confused as to why he couldn't find it, and gave a grateful nod as he went back up to the listing for "Bonnefoy".

However, when he typed the number in, he was sure he'd made a mistake, as it read "calling Artie" and rang twice before Arthur's voice came through the speaker, which he quickly placed on speakerphone.

"Look, whatever this is, it better be important!", he said in a harsh whisper. "I'm kind of not in a position to-"

"Sorry!", Feliciano quickly apologized. "I- er, was trying to call Francis but it came up with this number instead and I'm really sorry!"

Arthur didn't say a word for several seconds before giving a laugh a bit louder than someone who had been captured and stolen a phone maybe should have. "Ah, well, I hadn't checked this phone's number, but I suppose it's a distinct possibility that it might be a few digits off from-"

"Drop the act, mon lapin," said a voice sounding like it was coming from over Arthur's shoulder. "Please, I'd like to speak to Feli, if you would."

Everyone pretty much reacted with the same stunned expression, excepting Alfred, who just yelled "Wait, what's going on? Who is that?"

"Ah, well, hello Italy," Francis's voice greeted from the other line. "And you too, America. Very nice to hear from you all."

For some reason, Feliciano's whole body wouldn't stop shaking. "Did you... get captured too?", he asked.

Francis just laughed. "Ohohohon, you really think I would be acting like this if Iggy and I were locked up together?"

"Um, well…"

"I would not. I would hardly be so grave about the situation, but the truth is not so… simple, shall we say."

Alfred cast a weird glance towards the phone and, with an almost sad sigh, asked "Really, what's going on? You aren't- were you the one who captured Arthur?"

"Not far off, actually," Francis admitted, way too casually. "But, well, there's a bit more to it. I wouldn't expect you to care, though."

Everything felt cold. Someone Feliciano had always looked up to was cackling like a comic book villain and openly admitting to doing something awful. That couldn't be right. Out of everything that hadn't made sense; being Italy, dating Ludwig, being a hero, all of that seemed fine in comparison.

"Did someone make you do that?", Feliciano desperately asked. "Are they holding someone captive? We can save them, right?"

"No person is being held at gunpoint to make me say these things," Francis assured them. "But if you don't like hearing these things, well, you'll find a lot more of that if you keep on with your pointless little mission."

That sounded too much like a threat. Something stung in Feliciano's eyes. "Francis, why are you doing this?", he asked. "They're evil! They hurt people! You can't be trying to help them."

"Well, if you're gonna stand in our way, you won't stand a chance!", Alfred scoffed. "Anyone who wants to hurt my brother is gonna-"

"He hung up," Ludwig reported, and handed the phone back to Alfred, who pretty much just stared at it for a minute before slamming it back into a cup holder.

It was an entire awkwardly silent stretch of road later when anyone found the voice to say anything about it. "Well, I suppose this means Gilbert was correct," Kiku offered.

"That's a first," Ludwig muttered. Feliciano suspected it was a joke, but he just couldn't bring himself to laugh.

More strained sounds of nothing. "Um, I really didn't know about this, by the way," Sealand assured them, likely spurred by Erika's disapproving glare. "Really, I would have told you if I knew he was working with them, but I never even met the guy or saw a picture of him, so I had no idea he was even involved at all!"

"Whatever, it doesn't matter!", Alfred said really, really quickly. "Aren't we getting close to that thing or something?"

Kiku opened an atlas and scanned it. "A few hours away, at most."

"So let's figure out how we're gonna blow that place open and save everyone!"

As everyone began chatting away about strategic stuff he really didn't get, Feliciano could only think of how badly he wanted this all to be over. Francis shouldn't be an enemy any more than they should be heroes.

With a yawn, Feliciano decided he didn't want to think any more. Taking his cross necklace off, he muttered to Ludwig "Hold this for me. I wanna take a nap."

He then closed his eyes and tried to focus more on the heat of the sun and the person beside him. Leaning his head on Ludwig's shoulder, he tried to forget about how scared he was. All he needed to think about was the inhales and exhales, and how Ludi was sort of messing with his hair, and that his thoughts were getting further and further away.

A while later, he became suddenly aware that he'd woken up, and that he hadn't dreamed of a single thing. It was sort of refreshing to know that, but then Ludwig noticed he'd woken up and handed him the necklace back and he remembered again why he'd been so upset in the first place.

"We'll be there soon," he was told. "But it's a bit late, so we were considering turning in for the night and going for it in the morning."

Still fighting the sleepiness away, Feliciano shook his head. "No, we shouldn't wait," he said, really meaning "I wanna get it over with."

"Are you sure?", Sealand questioned. "I mean, if we're gonna do this, shouldn't we be well rested?"

"No, he's right," Kiku agreed. "It'd be selfish to keep Arthur and everyone else waiting."

It seemed pretty much decided, but Feliciano wasn't really listening. His heart was just pounding way too fast, 'cause it had finally hit him that they were actually about to go in that freaky place and do things. This only got worse when Kiku said it'd only be about an hour or so longer.

That creepy room with the green tank he'd dreamed about, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was something he should be scared of. And they kept getting closer to them.

Still, maybe once they talked to Francis, they could get him to come around. And maybe everyone they were looking for would be there, and they wouldn't have to go anywhere else. Maybe after this everything would be fine and they could go home. Yeah, that had to be right.

Telling himself that, he managed to shake off the dread covering him and find some enthusiasm. They were reaching the end of all of this. Pretty soon, he could forget all about the scary things and go back to just being boring old Feliciano Vargas. Well, except he'd have a bunch of new friends and Ludwig, so it would be like before, but better.

And so he picked up his sketchpad and found an old drawing of Holy Rome and erased the mask and started drawing in Ludwig's face. It fit perfectly, and he'd drawn them both so often that he was sorta baffled he'd never noticed it before. Well, he wasn't so much a noticing things kind of person, but still, he found it looked a lot better without the mask.

It felt like he blinked once and then the car started to take the sorts of weird turns that indicated a destination had been reached. Excitement and dread and whatever else began to pound in his chest. This was either going to go great or- well, it would go great. Positivity would save the day here.

"Um, take a left," Sealand commanded at an intersection that seemed to be in the middle of the woods, and only went straight and right.

He was met with odd looks. "Left? There isn't a left here," Ludwig stated dryly.

"It's left of here, though!", Sealand insisted. "Erm, park then and get out. I remember this place from before."

They pulled over, and Alfred quickly got out. "Okay, so where is this place?", he questioned.

"Follow me!", Sealand cried before flying off into the trees, towards what looked like an overgrown trail.

It took Feliciano a second to put all his drawing stuff up, which was a good thing, 'cause it meant him and Ludwig were a bit behind the others as they walked into the middle of nowhere. He grabbed his hand as they started to walk.

"Are you alright?", Ludwig asked him in a whisper. "If you don't want to do this, I'm sure it would be fine if you just waited for-"

"I can do this!", he vowed. "Besides, these woods sort of freak me out. I don't wanna get eaten by a bear or something."

The nervous laugh he added at the end was probably enough to tip Ludwig off to his raging nerves. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know you won't!", Feliciano said, a smile finding its way on his face. Of course there was nothing to be afraid of, Ludi was with him, and that meant everything would be fine. In a burst of… well, something, he leaned over and pecked his boyfriend on the cheek.

It was actually adorable how that made him sputter and blush. "Hey, you know, I was thinking, maybe after this we could find a nice place to get dinner or something!", Feliciano continued. "Just the two of us."

"Well, I suppose we haven't really had a date yet," Ludwig muttered. "So, um, that sounds nice. We- we really should focus on all of this first, though."

Surrounded by dead leaves and kudzu, a few steps from something terrifying, Feliciano felt a weird sort of energy. Anticipation, maybe, and it filled him full as the rest of the group began to stop at an odd clearing with a rusted metal panel half buried in the center of it.

* * *

 _ **AN- That ending might have tasted like cavities, but I figured we needed a bit more cute stuff with the GerIta. Especially given all that with France. Well, considering how much he's been built up, it would have been sort of disappointing if he wasn't important, right? And he is definitely important. And if he seemed a bit too... blandly evil, I assure you, there's a lot more of him to see than that. So, next up is the storming of the base and whatnot. Get ready to have some fun. And I mean my twisted definition of fun. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	30. Azure Deceiver

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twenty Six- Azure Deceiver_

Right up until the moment when he actually stood before the entrance to the base, Alfred hadn't actually been scared. Even if Francis was his enemy now, all he needed to do was go in there and save his brother and everyone else, right?

But as Sealand searched the trees for the hidden panel that opened up the rusty metal panel that separated them from their goal, his heart started to pound. All his life he'd been wanting to play the role of the hero, and here he was doing it, but he didn't feel ready at all. It was like that sinking feeling when he would realize he hadn't studied at all for a huge test in school, but instead of failing the class, he would get the crap beat out of him.

He had to tell himself it would be fine. The five of them were super powerful, and Sealand would know how to get them around the place. It would be fine, it would be fine, it would be-

"Ha! Found it!", Sealand suddenly shouted, and the panel started to slide open, revealing a gaping, pitch-black hole in the ground. Okay, maybe not completely dark, because he could vaguely make out the metal rungs of a ladder, but that was about it.

Quickly, Alfred dashed to the hole and in a burst of light summoned his powers. "Alrighty, then! Last one down's a rotten- er, slowpoke!" Oh God, had he actually said all that? Like, seriously actually said that? Wow, that was lame. Good thing everyone else was too preoccupied to care.

So, how did those weird metal ladder protrusion things work? He'd seen them in movies, but never actually used one, so he hoped he wasn't setting himself up to fall terribly when he grabbed onto the top rung with both hands and sort of just stepped down.

Metal clanged against his chest and kind of hurt, but he got his foot on one of them and didn't actually fall, so he let out an internal sigh of relief and grabbed the next rung down, and kept climbing down for what felt like six trillion years until his foot finally hit a solid surface instead of a tiny metal thing. Laughing more out of gratitude than anything, he let go of the ladder and silently cursed whoever designed the place for not making a way to get down there that wasn't painful.

It was really dark down there, with the late afternoon sun from far above them being the only thing illuminating the place. Taking a few steps back and turning around, Alfred started to be really grateful for having a fire explosion-type power. Now, if he could just remember how to make a tiny little flame like he had when he'd first tried the thing…

In the palm of his hand, a tiny fireball flared up and sort of exploded, but quickly reformed into a tiny flicker that wasn't really as hot as he figured fire should be. It cast a bit of light on his surroundings, revealing that, to no one's surprise, they were surrounded by metal on all sides. At very least, it looked like that picture Arthur had sent him. Well, except for the doors, because he couldn't see any yet.

Another, brighter light came from a ways behind him. Alfred glanced back to see Feliciano producing a glow from the end of his flag thing. It gave a bit more detail to their surroundings, but ultimately, it was still just all metal.

Without a word, they kept going onwards, and the eerie silence made his heart rate increase. Without thinking, he started blabbing away about the first things that came to mind. "Okay, so, Sealand, Artie doesn't know about you yet, right?"

"You mean about who I am?", Sealand questioned. "Well, no, but please don't say it so loudly here. Like I said, I don't know if they know who I am, but if you announce it to the whole world like that they definitely will."

With a laugh, Alfred tried to shrug that off. "Oh, right! Well, I guess that Toris guy we're supposed to save will be here too, right? Wow, it's gonna be weird seeing him after all these years. We were, like, good friends for a little while in high school and he's actually kind of hot but he had this friend who really hated me for some reason. Can't remember his name, but I think it was like, something that some-"

A sharp kick to the back of his leg stopped him, and Alfred turned back around to see both Erika and Ludwig glaring at him. "Are you trying to get us killed?", Ludwig questioned in a harsh whisper.

"Sorry," he whispered back. They kept walking in what felt like an endless hallway in silence until he heard footsteps, but glancing around, couldn't see a source, and kept going. This place was really starting to creep him out, and as his eyes passed over a patch of rust that looked distinctly like blood in the odd lighting, he vaguely wondered if maybe the place was haunted. He told himself firmly that ghosts weren't real and he was being stupid.

A moment later, he thought he felt something moving beside him, but couldn't see anywhere it might have come from. He told himself that it was probably just someone bumping into him or something, but it didn't help ease his fears. A cold wind seemed to surround him from no source in particular, and he still couldn't see anywhere it might have been coming from.

Forcing himself not to think about it, he kept going on and ignoring what seemed to be the footsteps behind him growing fainter until he realized that everything had become much darker. That almost made his heart stop on its own, so he turned to see if Feliciano was alright, telling himself that he probably just had gotten tired and put his light up.

Not only was Feliciano not behind him, but nothing was. Okay, hallway, sure, but other than that, nothing. No one was behind him. Not even a shadow, just dark, blank emptiness.

"Okay guys, not funny!", he whispered as loudly as he could whisper. No answer. "Seriously, this isn't the time to be playing tricks! Come back!"

That part came out more like a panicked cry, but still, nothing. His chest felt like it was going to explode. An odd whimper came from his mouth. Where did everyone go? There was nowhere to go! No doors, no branched paths, nothing! It had just been a straight stretch since they'd entered.

And then he heard a door slam shut somewhere behind him. Even when he looked around, he couldn't see a thing. His whole body started shaking, and a weird sting in the back of his throat and at his eyes appeared. What was going on? Had he gone crazy? Was this place actually haunted? Or was this some sort of weird attack from some enemy?

Around him, the walls started to flicker, revealing a rather plain room that, unlike the hallway he'd been positive he'd been standing in, had walls, which had light fixtures on them filling the room with dull light that was still much brighter than the flame he was still holding. He turned around to try to run to that door he'd heard a second ago, but was stopped by two people standing in front of it.

One was Arthur, who gave him a defeated smile as they locked eyes. The other was Francis, who was looking at the flame in Alfred's hand as it flickered away.

"What was that?", he asked frantically. "Where am I? What-?"

He was cut off by a hug, which was really freaking him out almost as much as the room appearing out of nowhere, because he could count on one hand the number of times Arthur had actually willingly hugged him.

"Stop crying, I really didn't mean to scare you," Arthur assured him as he let go and stepped back again.

Almost automatically, Alfred wiped his glasses off with the sleeve of his jacket. It was sort of embarrassing, but he'd just sort of been trapped by a ghost room, so he probably had a pass.

"What was all that, anyways?", he asked again. "I mean, it was like, super creepy, but-"

"Well, I've been practicing illusionary magic," Arthur explained. "Gotten pretty good at it, too. With Francis here, we managed to make you see a straight hallway all the way until you got to us."

Suddenly, the odd sounds he'd kept hearing made sense. That hallway hadn't been empty, and it probably turned off a few times too. Everyone had probably split up to check other paths or rooms, but he hadn't seen any of them so he couldn't figure out where any of them led.

"But…" He started thinking a bit out loud, and realized that it didn't make any sense at all. "Why did you do that to me? Were you trying to lead me to you and- wait."

With a sudden pang, he realized the full implications of the fact that Francis was not only also there, but had helped his brother. "But… why are you working with him? You heard him, he's with the bad guys!"

Without warning, the room around him flickered a bit, that hallway reappearing for a brief moment as Arthur looked around until he held his hands out in front of him like he was signaling his powers to stop and the hallway faded once more. "I- he just asked me to split your company up a bit," his brother explained. "That's all."

"Why did you help him?", Alfred pressed. "We came here to save you, so why would you try to mess that up? He was the guy who captured you, right?"

"It's a bit of a complicated story," Arthur assured him. "But, in short, I wouldn't exactly say I was, er, 'captured'."

Something cold ran down Alfred's spine and into his chest. "Wh-what?", he stuttered. "But you-"

"Don't you see?", Francis said, smirking a bit. "Arthur was the bait, and this-" He cut himself off to transform, a white light quickly placing him in a blue uniform and cape that looked less like a cool video game hero than it sounded. He summoned a rapier into his hand and made a pose like a fencer might before beginning a match. "Well, this is the trap."

"I really am sorry about this," Arthur apologized. "But there wasn't really another option. I was hoping you wouldn't have to get involved, but we needed Italy, Germany, and Japan here, and I couldn't see much of a way to do it without your help, so we made sure I'd leave my phone where you'd find it and call me up so I could tell you I was captured and you lot would find your way here."

No, that couldn't be what he was saying. Arthur wasn't admitting he'd manipulated his own brother into bringing his new friends here, right? Alfred began to chuckle. "Ehe, that's funny," he muttered. "But really, what's this about?"

"I'm not joking," Arthur assured him. "But this was the only way I could protect you and Matthew. Please, I'm not your enemy- put that gun down!"

Alfred hadn't realized he'd summoned his pistol, or that his hand was resting on the trigger. "Why did you help them?", he pressed. "And don't give me any of that bull about you trying to protect us. You could have done that just fine at home."

"I'm not going to pretend like I know how everything operates, but I agreed a long time ago that I would help Francis and the others if they ever needed me to, and they needed me," Arthur explained, his voice breaking. "I'm just trying to do what needs to be done, Al!"

His brother would never turn against them. Neither should Francis. They were both nice people, both his big brothers, both the people he looked up to most of all. If any people in this world were heroes, at least in his eyes, they were. They couldn't be evil, there had to be some other explanation. "What needs to be done?", he pressed desperately. "Tell me what's going on! I can help you!"

Arthur shook his head and turned to Francis, who he gave an odd look.

"Actually, there is **something** you could do for us, mon cher," Francis said, and Alfred found himself focusing on every last syllable more than he thought he should be. " **Please, would you leave? Just go right back out that door and wait at the entrance for whichever of your friends makes it out, alright? And then leave this place. Leave it and never return and stay out of as much trouble as you possibly can, because neither of us want you to get hurt.** "

Alfred nodded without thinking. Those words filled up his head until there was nothing else left. It felt like falling asleep, but instead of hazy darkness, all that enveloped him was commands.

 **Turn around. Open door. Walk out of it. Keep going straight forward. Do not stop for any cause.**

 **Do not notice England walking out with you. Do not notice him turning down a different hall. Keep going straight forward.**

(Huh? But what's that noise?)

 **Keep going straight forward.**

* * *

 _ **AN- Oh, this is going to be fun. So. Very. FUN. So either England's working for the other side or both him and France aren't telling us something, or possibly, both. But I ran into a few issues with writing the next chapter, so there's a sort of bonus chapter after this one to buy me more time to work out the plot. But hey, at least we know what was going on with Poland a few chapters back! Mind control seemed like a fitting power for France, and illusions seemed like a good extension of England's powers, and that works together to make wonderful things. Like fake Lithuania who is actually France and sends you to go not kill his best friend and test his powers. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	31. B1- Mirror Pool

_Magitalia_

 _Bonus Chapter One- Mirror Pool_

"Once, long ago, there was a great warrior: the Roman Empire. He was loved by his people, feared by his enemies, and respected by all."

A voice rang out from the center of a brilliantly blue pool of water, where a young man who looked very familiar stood, facing away. He could not see his face, but he could see a curl protruding from his hair that was rather like the ones sported by him and his brother, aside from how bent up it looked.

"Rome possessed the ability to see across time, and with this, managed to foil many enemy attacks and avert numerous tragedies. But as his life went on, all the terrible things he saw in his visions started to wear away at his mind."

He tried to take a few steps towards the speaker, but no matter how far he walked, he got no closer.

"He eventually had two heirs, his beloved grandsons. The older inherited his powers to bring light and the younger had not only that power, but also his vision. But the younger boy was kind and pure, too precious to be crushed by the weight of the future and the sorrows of the past, so Rome forbade him from ever using those powers, hoping that it would keep him safe.

"Rome saw his own death coming quickly, but he could see even further beyond that. He saw a day when all Nations would be slaughtered and reborn, and he saw that his grandson's powers would someday lead to his own murder and rebirth. So, he made him promise to never tell a soul about his visions.

"The younger grandson broke this vow only twice: once to tell another child of Rome that he regarded as his little brother, and again to tell the two people he trusted most in all the world. This was only because he didn't want to lie to those he held dear. He never used his visions, though. Not even when the person he loved was seemingly killed, or when all of his friends started slowly being slaughtered, forcing him and his brother into hiding. He kept that promise until the day he died."

At last, the speaker turned to face him. He bore a worried frown, going against his normal attitude quite harshly.

"But... Romano, you know Veneziano's been using his visions now, right?", Seborga questioned. "And completely recklessly at that."

"How was I supposed to know?", Romano countered. "He didn't tell me about it!"

Seborga shrugged. "I figured he would have. But please, try to keep him from doing anything stupid, alright?"

Something between a scoff and a chuckle came from Romano's mouth. "Yeah, sure."

/././././././././././

"You have a nice nap?"

A cheery voice awoke Lovino, along with a gentle shake. Blinking, he found Antonio bending over him, grinning.

"Shut up," he muttered. "I was actually having a cool dream, so why'd you wake me?"

"Well, your break was over ten minutes ago."

With a huff, Lovino forced himself to stand up and turned away from his boss. That dream had been really weird, and he wasn't sure why he'd been so sure he recognized that guy who was talking. But, he'd said a bunch of stuff about countries and powers, so maybe it was something about all that Italy crap Feli was tied up in.

A rubber band was sitting on the table in front of the chair he'd fallen asleep in, and he picked it up and put it around his wrist without really thinking. That "Veneziano" the guy in his dream talked about, that had to be Feli, so he made a mental note to call him whenever he got the chance and ask him about it.

* * *

 ** _AN- Sorry! I was really having troubles with writing up the next chapter, so I decided to postpone it a bit and work a bit more on what I want to do with it. I didn't want to leave you all with nothing though, and I happened to have a dream thing with Seborga explaining a bit better where Italy's powers came from and why they're important already typed up, so I turned it into a super short bonus chapter with Romano. So, as an apology gift, you get Seborga and a tiny bit of Spain. Don't worry, Romano gets another, more proper POV chapter later on. I don't know if the next chapter will be up sooner than the normal update schedule or not, but I really don't know how I feel about the trajectory I had planned for it, so I'm gonna need a bit of time with it. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	32. Chartreuse Glow

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twenty Seven- Chartreuse Glow_

Despite how scared the fact that their group was slowly dwindling made Feliciano, he didn't dare say a word. Didn't try to stop Kiku from slipping off into another corridor, didn't stop Erika and Sealand from doing the same. After all, they were supposed to be looking for a lot of people here, and they'd probably agreed to split up and look or something before hand. No need to freak out.

On the other hand, Alfred seemingly turning a corner only to not be around the other side when he made that same turn himself seemed like good reason to freak out. Especially given Ludwig broke his silence to mutter "Where did he-?"

Both of them glanced around, trying to see if he'd made some turn they hadn't seen. Maybe he'd just gotten a bit further ahead? "Let's keep going," he suggested softly, and a nod of agreement from Ludi confirmed the action.

Going forward, there appeared to be some sort of eerie green glow coming from far ahead of them. The closer it got, the more Feliciano thought that it looked like the same shade as the creepy tank from his dreams. That exact same sickly chartreuse- or maybe it was a bit greener than chartreuse?- was starting to flood the halls and make his heart beat crazily.

He wasn't so much consciously aware that he stopped moving as he was consciously aware of Ludwig getting a bit further away before turning back towards him. "Are you alright?", he asked in a low whisper.

"I- I'm fine," he sorta lied, trying to wave away his own misgivings. Ludwig was here, so he was fine. "This place is just starting to creep me out."

Ludwig looked at him oddly for a moment before taking a few steps towards him and grabbing his hand. "Do you want to look somewhere else?", he offered.

With a smile, Feliciano whispered "Yeah, please."

They were about to turn around before a brilliant flash caught Feliciano's attention. It seemed to be a bolt of electricity, but was a beautiful green shade that forked off into blue and red and violet. In the darkness, it looked more like an aurora than lightning.

"Stay where you are!", a voice threatened, but failed to sound that threatening. A man that the green glow let him identify as the same enemy that had spoke with them when they had first met Arthur stepped forward.

Letting go of his hand, Ludwig stepped forward and produced his weapon, which took the form of a cool-looking axe. Feliciano tightened his grip on his own flag as well. "Finland, isn't it?", Ludwig questioned, answered with a nod. "You seemed sensible enough before. Allow us to go on with our business, and we'll leave you to yours."

"I really wish we could do that here," Finland mused. "However, I've been told specifically not to let the HRE leave this place."

Without hesitation, Feliciano dashed forward and sent a few bullets of light from the end of his flag. "Leave Ludwig alone! Just because he's the HRE or whatever doesn't mean you can threaten him!"

An odd chuckle came from Ludwig, who despite the strange lighting, Feliciano was certain was blushing. "Um, it's fine, really," he muttered. "But I won't let you stand in our way."

He sent several of the his silver wires through the air, hooking onto the walls to prove his point.

"Metal? Against electricity?", Finland questioned. "There's only a few ways that could end, and I'm not a fan of any of them."

Without a word, Ludwig walked forward and began to summon what seemed like a storm of needles, but stopped himself as an indigo circle blossomed beneath his feet. It was filled with symbols and looked rather familiar, but Feliciano wasn't given much time to dwell on that as a bright flash came from it.

When it cleared, it revealed Ludwig laying on the floor, covered in both what could only be his own threads, which were pressing into his flesh, and ripples of electricity in beautiful shades. Something rose up in the back of Feliciano's throat as he saw this.

"Very sorry about that," Finland hastily apologized. "I didn't want to hurt him, honest, but we just needed to talk to you alone."

None of that really mattered as Feliciano tripped over the slowly dissolving wires and rushed to Ludwig's side. In the faint green glow, which he could see very clearly now was coming from that room from his nightmares, he could make out his shallow breaths, but little else proving he was alright. Dark marks where the wires were digging into his skin helped prove otherwise. He'd bent down to grab his hand, but was pulled back by someone's hand on his shoulder.

"Just leave him be," requested a figure that stepped from the shadows near one of the control panel-looking things. It was Norway, as given away by the indigo shade of the magic he'd cast a moment ago. "He'll heal quickly, and I can assure you, any damage done won't be permanent."

Once he let go, Feliciano snapped right back to trying to reach Ludwig. Lightning strikes, even against someone with magic, had to be really painful, and he tried to see if he was awake as gently as possible, poking at parts of his arm that hadn't been tangled up in the wires that had almost all faded by now and calling his name. Maybe not standard procedure for the event of your boyfriend getting shocked by rainbow aurora force lightning, but to be fair, he'd probably missed that day in health class.

Norway made another move as if to stop him, but Finland shook his head. "If that makes him feel better, just let him."

"Alright, fine, but would you pipe down? I'd like to tell you what's going on here, at least."

Feliciano turned his head towards the hairpin-wearing mage. "Really?", he questioned. An explanation? And from one of the bad guys? It seemed too good to be true.

"You deserve an explanation," Finland assured him with a sad sort of smile. "Considering why you're here, it's the least we can do."

"It's the most we can do, too," Norway added. "Either way, I heard you calling him the HRE earlier," he started, a kick at the ground towards the unconscious Ludwig indicating the subject. "You realize that's wrong, right?"

Wait, what? But that masked hero, that was the HRE, and that was Ludwig. Russia had said as much himself. "But-"

"To be fair, we thought it was him too," said Finland. "That's why we called it the HRE. Same abbreviation as the Holy Roman Empire that became Germany."

"Is that not what it stands for?", Feliciano questioned.

Norway gave a dry chuckle. "Clearly not. See, our leader had a suspicion that one of the G8 countries possessed the ability to see across time, similarly to how my brother could see the future. Though it was unable to be determined which of them had this power before they were all killed, it was determined not to be Russia, America, France, or England. Therefore, it left only the Axis trio, who were all shot down before their powers could be further assessed.

"However, Belarus battled an unidentified Country that resembled descriptions of Holy Rome, so it was thought that Germany was the most likely candidate. They spent ages trying to track him down, but he never appeared again, which is why they suspected it might be the one with future vision. Em- er, Iceland, it'd been recorded that his eyes turned red when he looked into the future, so this hypothesised seer G8 was called the HRE, or the Holder of Red Eyes. Seems a bit forced to me, but I wasn't around when they made it up, so I can't complain.

"They assumed the unidentified Country was this person up until Russia and Estonia observed both the reappearance of the conjecture HRE as a form of Germany and the demonstration of these powers by Italy."

Despite the fact that he understood the story well enough, it took Feliciano a minute to realize what this meant. "Wait… so I'm the HRE?"

"It seems like it," agreed Finland.

Something about that was a little underwhelming. Like, they'd all been looking for the HRE and talking about him, but that made it sound like he had some really cool power. Sure, Feliciano could sometimes see weird things in his dreams, but it wasn't like he really knew how to use that. But, it was also sort of unnerving. They'd all been searching for this "HRE", so what did that mean for him?

With the green-filled cylinder looming above them, he started to wonder if it had something to do with that.

"That brings us to why we brought you here, of all places," Norway continued, gesturing to the tank to confirm his suspicions. "Do you know what all this does?"

Feliciano shook his head silently.

"When someone who can see the future is hooked up to it, in theory, it should be able to let whoever operates the machine to use their powers to see whatever event in the future they wish to see," explained Norway, like it was rather simple and uninteresting. "However, it isn't exactly… functional. I barely understand it all myself, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's an early prototype, at best. The leader requires someone with the ability to see the future to test it so its issues can be ironed out."

"And that person's me?"

Norway looked away, sighing at the many cables attached to the green tube. "Well, it was supposed to be Iceland," he stated. "This particular testing machine was designed with him in mind, but once he finally got caught by… well, by us, he had Hong Kong use his explosives to kill him and destroy his body so he wouldn't be able to be subjected to this. They said that it'd be better to just wait for his next reincarnation to come around, but I convinced them to keep looking for the HRE. I didn't want my little brother's next life to end up as bad as the one before it had been. So yes, it is you."

Trembling, Feliciano tried not to think of how calmly he was being told that he was to be subjected to a fate that a future-seer had deemed worse than death. Instead, he used his flag to push himself up and willed himself to be strong. "Why are you telling me all this?", he questioned.

"You deserve to know who is killing you and why." That was Norway's response, and he still refused to turn around and face him as he said that.

That tube, it was going to kill him if he was forced into it like they said he would be. He could feel it somewhere in the back of his mind, and if he looked hard enough, he was sure he could see what would happen next if he became their test subject.

Wordlessly, he prayed. Prayed for the strength to once in his life, when it really mattered, to be brave. He wouldn't let them take him. He wouldn't die. Feliciano Augustus Vargas was not going to be killed by the vile machine painting the room a sickly green. He clutched his weapon and felt the light surging under the cold metal pole.

Light which erupted from the end of the pole as he swung it towards Norway, who produced a broadsword just in time to block the strike. Out of the corner of his eye, beautiful bolts of electricity danced by his head, which he ducked out of the way of before they even existed.

With barely a thought, Feliciano struck the ground with the tip of his flag, channeling all that light into a pulse that rang through the room like ripples in a pond. It shook the glass of the tube, knocked both of his enemies down, and wiped the green from the room for a brief moment of brilliant white. As Finland struggled to get up, he pointed his weapon at him.

"Let me leave and I won't hurt you!", he threatened, and the words sounded undeniably weird coming from his mouth.

Now Finland too refused to meet his eyes, even when he was pointing what amounted to a gun at him as he was struggling to get off the floor. "Go ahead," he stated almost sadly. "You should leave."

Had that really worked? Feliciano felt a swell of pride. Maybe he should try threatening people more often! "Thanks!", he called as he went over to Ludwig and started to vaguely wonder how he could go about carrying him out of that terrible place.

But before he could reach Ludwig, he felt a sharp pain entering his back, followed by a hazy blackness falling around his eyes.

What felt like moments later, his head cleared, and he opened his eyes to find them flooded with the chartreuse green that he'd come to associate with terrible danger. Feliciano felt nothing but a cool, thick gel pressing against his skin, flowing like water and sticking like syrup. He quickly realized he was breathing in the stuff without thinking, and it seemed to allow his breaths just fine. Reaching out, he could press his hand against a glass panel that separated him from a mess of lights and screens and panels he could barely see.

His hand, he noted as it pressed against the glass, had cords of all sorts attached to it in varying methods that made him a bit sick to look at. Any bleeding their insertion had caused him seemed to have vanished in whatever time he'd been in the tank. Vaguely, he became aware of a thousand other sharp pains throughout his body.

A cry rose up in his throat, but the green enveloping him drowned it out. Panic began to rise up instead, but it was also drowned out by a faint image beyond the glass. A familiar face, undoubtedly Francis, was looking at him.

That same blackness dissolved the green once more, a dull pain in his head and a faint beeping in his ears coming with it.

* * *

 ** _AN- First of all, sorry this is a bit later that I intended it to be. I got sick, so I couldn't really write much in the past few days. Also, I finally got the Nordics back in this story. Only took me twenty chapters. But, more importantly, Italy's been captured! And to be used in some terrible experiment at that. Ehe, yes, I did just do that to the main character, thanks for asking. See, this is why this chapter took so long. As fun as it is to make Italy's life terrible, it also must be executed carefully. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik._**


	33. Sunset Theater

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Twenty Eight- Sunset Theater_

When in a dangerous situation, the most reckless thing one could do was separate from the group. This was always when people started to get killed off in films and shows.

Kiku knew this perfectly well, yet upon seeing his older brother standing in a hall amidst the dark shadows of the enemy base, he instantly turned away from his friends to question him as to what exactly he was doing there. Reckless, yes, but if the very person who told him not to be was the one he was being reckless for, it hardly counted as such. Not to mention the fact that he would be alone was a bit of a moot point, given Yao's presence and Kiku's own "secret weapon".

Yao seemed to mouth something, perhaps "follow me" or "come here", but away from the light Feliciano and Alfred had been providing, it was difficult to tell. Either way, he followed it up with a gesture indicating he wanted him to follow as he took a few steps back and rounded a corner.

Perhaps it was simply that it was incredibly dark, but Kiku couldn't see Yao once he turned into a different hallway. There seemed to be faint amounts of light pooling from underneath doors, and this was enough that after a moment he located his brother quite a ways in front of him, but he could still barely see a thing.

With another gesture requesting him to watch, Yao opened a door and darted inside. More light poured into the hall from the ajar door, signaling Kiku to follow.

However, inside that door was not exactly something he would have expected Yao to lead him to. Alright, maybe it was exactly the thing Yao would lead him to, but given how his brother seemed to have vanished somewhere between him entering the door and when Kiku doing the same, it was a bit hard to say. Really, if it wasn't for the fact that Heracles was sitting in the room, cross-legged and with an expectant sort of smile, he probably would have been significantly more unnerved by the whole thing.

But whatever had happened, even if this was a trap like every bone in his body screamed it was, it happened to also be precisely the thing he had come to find, so he knelt down next to his friend and tried to remember what he'd planned to say upon finding him.

"Ah, well, I'm very sorry."

This seemed to perhaps not have been what he was expected to say, but it was the best thing he could think of. "Sorry? What for?", Heracles questioned.

"I should not have lied to you about my powers," Kiku explained. "You… well, if you had known all this a bit earlier, perhaps you would not have ended up getting captured, or at very least, we may have parted on better terms."

"There's no use dwelling on that," insisted Heracles as he looked around the room like he was trying to find something. "But what do you mean 'parted on better terms'? You weren't upset with me about those flowers, were you?"

Kiku tried to remember the certainty of feeling he'd had a moment after Heracles's capture. That clarity, that knowledge that he was finally sure how he felt about him, he couldn't find it. In its place was a gaping panic that left him with very little to say. "Ah, no, the flowers were… lovely. I was only thinking that, well-" A weight at his throat reminded him of what it was he'd meant to say. "The bell. I was wearing it because it allows me to transform."

"O-oh…" Heracles gave a small chuckle and suddenly refused to meet his eyes. "It's your Catalyst. That- that explains things."

He could practically hear himself mentally facepalming. After the flowers and the love confession, was that really where he was going to leave it? "Well," he started with a nervous gulp. But something drifted into his screaming consciousness, the "secret weapon" he'd stuck in his pocket. "I- um, have something for you actually."

Quickly, he grabbed the cat-eared headband he'd gotten for Heracles. If his powers could be activated by their bond, surely the reverse would be true. Besides, if actions were to speak louder than words, then surely this would increase his volume from a whisper.

"Ehe, this is really cute," Heracles muttered, a smile gracing his lips. He looked at him straight on once more, and Kiku felt his heart rate increasing with every second he thought about how, despite how exhausted his friend was, that his eyes were still deeply alive.

It was almost relieving when he looked away to place the headband on. Without thinking, Kiku reached out to help adjust it, getting the felt triangles even in placement. Seeing those on Heracles, looking silly and cute despite the fact that they were sitting in a cell in an evil lair, it made him smile.

"How do they look?", Heracles asked, and Kiku was a little taken aback by the awkward laugh and profuse blushing that accompanied this.

"Well, at very least, we match," he remarked, and then pushed himself to his feet and reached towards Heracles, indicating he should grab his hand. "Now, let's get out of here and see if my theory is correct when we run across guards."

His own cheeks were overtaken with heat once Heracles actually took his hand and the two of them began out the door. This was so incredibly girly, like a scene from a Magical Girl manga, and that made something swell deep inside of him.

That feeling, however, lessened considerably when they ran into some barrier that seemed to look absolutely no different from the rest of the hall. Kiku attempted to swipe at it with blades of water, but Heracles pulled him back and shook his head.

"It's no use trying to attack it," he insisted. "These walls are pretty much impossible to damage."

The place he was trying to attack flickered, to show that yes, it was in fact a wall. In fact, looking around, he could see little else. No hall, no cell, just one large room, with a person he had forgotten about in the heat of the moment standing in what seemed to be the center of it.

"Very sorry to have to trick you, aru," Yao apologized. "It's just that we were asked to help corner you."

Kiku could do little more than stare at his brother. He was wearing red and gold most befitting of his claim to be "China", but held himself in a way that just didn't seem right. Maybe this was because of the stuffed panda he halfway recognized as a present he'd gotten him several years ago haphazardly strapped to his back, or maybe it was because he seemed completely exhausted. Regardless, it was a little terrifying to see his brother in such a state.

"Are you alright?", he quickly asked, releasing Heracles's hand and taking a few steps towards his brother. "Why are you here?"

Yao wouldn't quite meet his gaze. "Russia said you'd forget, but I didn't believe it," he said. "You really don't remember fighting me the other day?"

"The other day" only conjured up a memory of an odd spell where Kiku couldn't quite remember anything before being chased across the countryside by Russia and Ukraine. Was that why everyone had acted so oddly when he'd woken up with that blank spot in his mind? Because they'd fought Yao and they didn't want to tell him?

He felt a bit betrayed by the thought. Surely Ludwig, at very least, would have known better than to keep things like that quiet. Even Feli would have known he wouldn't have liked that. But, as he noticed the dark circles and labored breaths his brother bore, he realized that no one would ever want to explain such a thing to anyone.

"I… do not remember that," Kiku admitted. "But I can assume you were with Russia when he overloaded my powers."

"You would be correct."

With a sigh, Kiku took a few steps forward and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Regardless of what occurred, I won't allow you to continue like this," he vowed. "The three of us should be able to escape this place easily, right?"

Flinching away from his touch, Yao shook his head. "That's… doubtful. Considering that we're under orders to trap you, I mean."

"God, I'm really sorry," Heracles added. "I- I didn't really-"

His apology was cut off by another voice, one that he didn't really expect to hear giving a booming cackle so loudly. Rather suddenly, Arthur appeared in the room, with whatever illusion was obscuring him falling away. "Don't you see? There's a very good reason that I lured you all here, Japan," Arthur exclaimed with all the subtlety of Team Rocket.

For some reason, Kiku couldn't help but laugh. Everyone, England especially, stared at him as he did so, but he did genuinely find it funny. Funny that he hadn't seen this coming, at very least.

"What's so funny, aru?", his brother questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Arthur, you're very clever, you know," Kiku remarked as the thoughts ran through his head. "I should have known everything with you was suspicious, but you clouded my mind by making me worry about Heracles rather than the situation. And Ludwig, he distrusted you from the start, but you convinced him to dislike you enough to not notice. Not to mention you must have set Alfred and Flying Mint Bunny up as well."

England shook his head. "I'm afraid you give me too much credit. A lot of this plan was Francis's idea, and Lukas helped a great deal as well. But, anyways, if you're so very clever, surely you know why I've brought you here."

He said that last part as if he were overacting the role of the dark lord far too enthusiastically. Arthur enjoyed this role, and Kiku wasn't convinced it was much more than that.

A quick scan around the room told him as much. The fact that both people that the enemy had under their thumbs and he happened to personally care about were present said quite a lot. The theatrics did well to tell him that this scenario had been designed, and for a purpose that was painfully obvious.

"You want me to join you?" Kiku questioned, almost positive that he was correct.

The smirk, the very typical one that was as devious as it was vanilla answered the question before Arthur himself did. "Ah, very good. A-plus." The mage cringed a bit at that last part. Perhaps he was realizing his acting was falling a bit flat. "You're a G8 Nation, and judging from what you unleashed back when you were fighting China, a very powerful one at that. We need some extra forces here at the end of our campaign. Someone who can help us pick up the last few pieces, you know? Spain, Austria, Seychelles, and a few others have been giving us the slip, and considering you're neither the HRE nor someone we need to keep at arm's length, you would be perfect for such a position."

"No. I will not join you." Why did this answer seem to surprise England? What else would he have expected? "Did you really believe I would betray my friends simply because you asked so dramatically? And assist the people who murdered my cousins?", Kiku questioned. The idea seemed ridiculous to him.

Was that a blush? It vanished quickly, but he was sure he saw a flash of red on Arthur's face. "Ah, but don't you see? If you don't, well, your dear brother and your friend here-"

"Stop." Kiku couldn't bear to see this. So many times he'd read or watched foolish protagonists trade everything for the lives of their loved ones. And so many times, it was pointless. Just as it would be here. "Yao has some sort of illusions, it seems. Someone that useful would never in a million years be wasted just out of spite for me not joining you. And Heracles, well, you all just finally got access to his powers, would you really kill him now before you see how useful they could be? Not to mention that you just said you were in need of extra power, and it would be wasteful to remove a source of it just to gain one singular unit."

The panic that crossed Arthur's face was a beautiful sight. Combined with Heracles's chuckle and Yao's slight smile and nod, he felt rather proud of himself for that one. "Perhaps that's true," Arthur admitted. "However, they are hardly the only two you love."

"There is literally no one that you could threaten," Kiku countered. "My family? You already said you intended to keep civilians out of that, and I presume that mentality extends to warfare. My friends? Other than Ludwig, who you all have been looking for, and Feliciano, who would be far too useful as leverage on other Nation Scouts, and I suppose Alfred if you stretched the definition a bit, I have very few of those to speak of. Anyone else you have either killed already or would be too useful to you to waste on getting me to help you."

Arthur frowned. "Shame. I had wanted you to at least feel like you were doing something heroic here. Honestly, the truth of the matter is you never had much of a choice on whether or not you joined us."

Taking several steps towards him, until they were practically nose to nose, his once-mentor whispered "But I promise that I'm doing all I can to protect everyone."

And with that contradictory statement, he then stumbled backwards and seemingly vanished in a flash of light. The room looked even different now, with an iron door where there once was walls, and the other two people looked even more tired and broken than they had a moment ago. Silence quickly settled over everything, only broken by Heracles plopping down on the floor, leaning against a wall.

"I really am sorry about this," Heracles reiterated. "But they said that if they couldn't get you to join, they'd kill you. But… I guess they didn't really do that, did they?"

Yao, who neatly sat himself down on the opposite side of the room, blurted out "You can't trust anything they say, aru! They're full of lies and nothing else."

"Then… why did you-?"

"Well, I didn't want to take any chances," Yao muttered. "Kiku, I really am sorry this had to happen."

Kiku decided to follow their examples and take a seat as well. He had a feeling it was going to be a while before he was going to leave this place, so he may as well get comfortable.

* * *

 _ **AN- Ehe, yes, I did just literally force one of the main characters to switch sides, thanks for asking. But the real moral of the story is this: England is a terrible actor. But honestly, I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. I actually got halfway through one draft before realizing it wasn't working, which is the cause of the Emergency Seborga Incident a few chapters back. Also, I swear the chapter title fits! Sunset, like what Japan called China's country the first time they met, plus it invokes a red color, and theater because England (and everyone else) is sort of putting on a show.**_

 _ **But, in other news, I'm going to be really busy the next few days. I've not only been sick, but I have a ton of school work to catch up on because of that, I'm taking the ACT on Saturday, and my birthday is next week (same day as Japan's, funnily enough), so I may not be able to post for a little while. But when I do get to, expect some real FUN. And Switzerland. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, I want to write at least one chapter going into Sealand's backstory in greater detail pretty soon. Should I A) make him just tell it as a story to the other characters, B) have it told as a flashback, but condensed into a single chapter, or C) have the flashback take up multiple chapters? Option C might sound excessive, but it's probably the only way Iceland or Ladonia or Latvia or some of the other characters that died before the story's start will get a chance to do anything in it, and also it might seem a bit wasted as an idea if I just skim over the story beats. Plus it will give me a bit more time to get the rest of the story in order, since I have it plotted out in pretty good detail. Just tell me what you think, lovely readers.**_


	34. Dying Sunlight

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter 29- Dying Sunlight_

Erika looked over her shoulder as she heard an odd shuffling in the air behind her after she'd turned a corner. The green rabbit seemed to be right behind her, even as the rest of their group grew distant. "Why are you following me?", she questioned in a whisper.

"Why did you come this way?", he countered.

"Kiku went a different way, so I assumed we were meant to split up," she explained.

The flat, black-eyed stare she got in response indicated her bluff hadn't been bought. "That… isn't a very good idea," Sealand countered. "I mean, if you get caught, you'll only have me for backup, and that isn't very helpful."

"I won't get caught," she assured him as she took a few light steps forward and allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Sneaking into places was the sort of thing she'd grown accustomed to, and leading a unified charge illuminated by bright light wasn't, in her experiences, a good way to evade capture. She was grateful for everyone's help, certainly, but her mission wasn't the same as theirs. As much as she wished the best for those friends of theirs, her only goal was to find her big brother, and if she could accomplish that much she could leave and everything would be fine.

However, it seemed the rabbit did not take her hint, and she continued to hear faint noises behind her as she continued onward.

Every few steps, she'd stop and listen for any sound that wasn't hers or Sealand's breathing. Even the slightest noise could indicate another presence. In the faint light, she kept her hand along the side of the wall, trying to feel if there was a door that, in a worse case scenario, she could gamble upon and slip into.

She wasn't even too certain what it was she was looking for. Her brother would, most likely, be a guard in this place rather than a captive, so if she heard footsteps, she would need to assure it wasn't him before fleeing. Perhaps in this case her friendships would come in handy, for if it wasn't Basch, it could still be someone she could ask for help or at very least convince not to attack.

So, when she finally heard faint footsteps, she was unsure of if they were a good thing or not. Her heart pounded as they drew closer, and with careful steps, she inched forward herself. Whatever it was she would find, she could handle. If friend, she could ask nicely for help, and if foe, she could flee or attempt to take them on.

As the footsteps got closer, she could faintly make out a shadow passing through the hall. Quickly, she pressed against the wall and tried to discern something about the figure. They were carrying a weapon, one that looked incredibly similar to hers, and combined with the way they carried themselves, that alone was enough to tell her how fortunate she was.

"Big brother!", she called, stepping towards the figure a bit. She could barely make out the surprise that crossed Basch's face, but she knew her own was smiling. It had been so long since she'd seen him, and he was the very first person she found.

He, however, didn't express any joy to mirror her own. Instead, he stopped walking and simply stared at her for what felt like ages before shaking his head. "No… please, no. You- you can't do this. What did I do wrong?"

His voice was trembling, and Erika rushed forward. "What's wrong?", she asked. "Big brother, I- I'm here, I found you. What do you mean?"

"Whoever's doing this, stop," he seethed, turning around and summoning an extra gun, which he grabbed with his free hand. "This- what kind of sick trick is this? Wearing the face of my sister, is this some sort of punishment?"

"Sw- Basch, this is your sister!", Sealand cried out. "We came to-"

Basch turned back around and pointed one of his rifles squarely at the flying rabbit. Faintly, Erika could see her brother's eyes were filled with bitter tears and glaring daggers. "You! You're doing this, aren't you?", he questioned, firing a shot that harmlessly bounced off Sealand's body. "Your lot took her away from me, and now you're taunting me like this? What did I do? Have I offended your master in some way?"

"Tell me, what's wrong? Why won't you believe me?", Erika cried, reaching to grab Basch's arm, but being unable to reach him as he dodged backwards. "I- I came here with some other people on a rescue mission! I wanted to find you! I-"

"What kind of fool do you think I am?" Basch questioned, but he didn't seem to be asking her. "My sister's been dead for months, so stop using her image! Whatever I did wrong, I will accept any punishment, but please just do it with someone else's face!"

All those words felt like ice crystals in the air and ran down her back like cold water. "I- I'm not dead!", she insisted. "Big brother, I'm not a trick or someone else, I came here to find you!"

His only answer was to reach into his pocket and produce a ribbon that looked almost identical to the one that he'd given her long ago, but with some unfamiliar holes and splatters of dark. "If you wanted me to believe you'd kept her alive, you shouldn't have allowed this to come back to me," he countered, practically spitting the words out. "You kept lording her life above me, telling me with one false move she'd be dead, and after I failed with Austria someone slipped this under my door with a note saying 'this was all that was left'. I assume that ending up with me was an error, but it was the worst thing in all this hell you've put me through, so you did your job pretty well."

None of the words made any sense. Had someone lied to him about her "death"? But why? "I don't know where that ribbon came from, but it isn't mine!", Erika said, trying again to reach for her brother, who refused to even look at her. "Please, just listen to-"

More gunshots cut her off, and they were aimed seemingly everywhere but at herself. "Whoever you are, stop hiding and face me," hissed Basch. "Is this about the Italy thing? Because I know I couldn't capture him, but you seem to have done just fine with that on your own, and it isn't as if my slights completely ruined-"

An unnatural cold filled the air. An involuntary shiver went down Erika's spine. Basch turned around suddenly and seemingly prepared to pull a trigger, but instead a light from something around his wrist flashed and he vanished where he stood. In the faint flash, she could briefly see surprise in his eyes.

"No!", Erika cried out without thinking. Had he sensed danger and left? No, he'd been shocked, so he must have been pulled out forcibly. Those teleporters… she'd seen others use them before, and she'd never seen someone trigger it knowingly, so had someone pulled him away?

The cold around her grew harsher, and she suddenly wished she still had that scarf Katyusha had given her. It was still dark, but she could see a new figure approaching her, with something trailing behind him and hanging from his neck.

"Leader says that he had been outliving his usefulness after being led to believe we'd killed you," a voice stated in a monotone unfitting of the normal eerie cheer that "Russia", (or rather Ivan?) tended to ooze. He came closer, and she could see that there he was wearing some sort of headset. "So he called him up to be taken care of."

"Wh-what?" The way he said that, even in that emotionless state, it made it sound like a promise of certain death.

A nod, and Ivan was staring blankly forward, like he barely saw her. He held one hand to the headset, and in his other was the pipe he seemed to use as a weapon. "We'll capture you too, so we can make certain that next time he makes a mistake he'll still think it counts," he reported.

Something glowing and purple rose up around the man, and his blank expression turned to a smile. "I'm very sorry, little girl. I don't want to hurt you, but my own little sister and my good friend are counting on me. You understand, don't you?"

It was the same sort of air that had preceded Kiku being drained of every drop of energy in his body. The same terrifying, unearthly chill. Was that was he was going to do to her? Force her to collapse in exhaustion and capture her as well? Tears filled her eyes. There was nowhere she could run, and no one close enough to hear her cries but the rabbit. Her hope for the future had all run dry. Only death or worse could await her now.

But a shout of "Out of the way!", followed by what felt like a brick ramming into her side and pushing her to the floor said otherwise.

Erika looked up to see a purple aura enveloping Flying Mint Bunny's form as he cried out in pain. A noble sacrifice, but she couldn't dwell on that. Using her rifle to push herself to her feet, she began to run away and prayed the exit was close enough.

"What- what are you-?" A surprised shout came from behind her, as did a bright white light. Briefly, she glanced back, and what she saw was enough to stop her feet from moving.

The rabbit's form was shining with light, and seemed to be changing. It was as if the creature was being shred to pieces, and from its remains another figure emerged. A young boy wearing a sailor's cap stood where Flying Mint Bunny had hovered a moment ago.

"Ahah! Yes!", the child cheered, punching the air. Both friend and foe stared at the strange child as he stretched. "Finally, that stupid body was getting cramped!"

His voice… it sounded just like the rabbit's. "Sealand?", Erika questioned, a shrill tone in her question that she had not intended.

Looking back at her, the boy grinned madly. "I know, right?", he practically laughed. "It's been way too long since I've been able to be me!"

"Wait, I know you," "Russia" stated softly. "You were that child with the Nordics, weren't you?"

"Yep! That's me!", Sealand affirmed. "Makes sense. You trapped me like that, so I guess you could undo it too."

"Russia" looked at Sealand with a confused look for a few moments more before placing his hand to the headset once more and nodding. "So, now that we've confirmed who you are, we need to take you out, yes?"

In a flash of light, what seemed to be a miniature cannon appeared in Sealand's arms. "Not today!", he shrieked, and several shots came from the cannon in a rapid stream.

Stumbling back, "Russia" chuckled faintly and icicles began to form in the air and whiz past her head.

Erika almost screamed when she felt someone as cold as steel grab her hand and pull her forward. However, she quickly realized it was Sealand. "Come on! We need to find the others and get out of here!", he exclaimed.

She didn't hesitate to run. Not with icicles tearing into her flesh. The echoes their feet left as they dashed probably alerted every last person in the area to their presence, but she didn't want to worry about that. She simply wanted to worry about getting out alive.

Once they reached the point where they'd originally split from the group, she turned against where Sealand was pulling her. "Why are you going that way?", she questioned desperately. "The exit's over here!"

"We need to save everyone else!", he countered, and she knew he was right. If she couldn't save her brother, she needed to at least to try and help the group that had helped her.

As they kept running, Erika could see a dark shape approaching slowly that Sealand seemed to not notice. But at the speed they were going, it was too late as she cried "No, stop!", and they collided with the figure.

"Ow! What was that?", a familiar voice questioned too loudly, and Erika breathed a sigh of relief. It was Alfred, and though he sounded rather confused, he was at least unharmed by the looks of it.

"No time to explain! Where are the others?", Sealand pressed.

It took a moment for him to answer, in which time he shook his head like he was trying to get water out of his ears. "The… others? I don't… no, wait, I got split up from them. I think Feli and Ludi turned off somewhere up ahead?"

Grabbing his hand as well, Sealand pulled the two of them forward, and took the first turn they came across. By this time, there were far more footsteps than just theirs echoing in the halls, and this was only further proved by the fact that two figures were standing before them, with a third collapsed on the ground.

Both Tino and another person she didn't recognize sprung into action, brandishing weapons that shined brightly in the eerie green glow the hall was giving off. All her instincts told her to turn back, but the glow also illuminated the familiar form and ragged breaths of the person on the floor. It was Ludwig, almost certainly.

A pained noise came from Sealand, and he stopped in front of the two people. They in turn refused to look at him, instead sending colorful bolts towards Erika and Alfred.

More footsteps, and Erika felt a cold wind at her back. They were cornered, to put it lightly, and she could still hear more on the way. Quickly, Sealand pulled her forward and made a lunge for the unconscious Ludwig before a bright light enveloped them and seemed to pull their bodies apart and through the air.

When the light cleared, Erika almost screamed. The dark halls around them had vanished, with what seemed to be the front yard of a house in its place. The sun above them was dying into twilight, and snow seemed to be falling around them, hitting her skin with a light kiss.

Alfred sputtered in shock. "What did you-?"

"I- um, teleported us," Sealand explained, looking like he'd seen a ghost and shivering tremendously. "It's sort of a country thing and, um, I didn't think we could have escaped any other way."

His eyes scanned the area before Alfred protested "But that means… are Kiku and Feli still in there?"

"I- I guess?", Sealand exclaimed, and he turned away and started heading towards the house's door. "I'm sorry. I- I didn't want it to end like that, and we couldn't have fought that."

"Oh, come on, there were just like, three of them!", countered Alfred. "We could have taken them!"

Sealand seemed to shake his head, but it was hard to tell. "There were way more than that. Probably ten, at least, if not more. I could feel it, we weren't gonna make it out of there alive."

"Thank you…", Erika muttered, feeling the cold biting her cheeks. "You saved our lives- saved my life."

Turning back around, Sealand gave her a smile, but it was stained with the tears running down his cheeks. "No problem! Are we good now?"

"I- I suppose so."

He was still shaking, but Sealand gave a laugh that sounded almost joyous. "Good. Now, we need to let Germany heal, and, well, we should probably lay low for a while. They'll know I came here, but hopefully it should be enough for now."

"Where are we, anyways?", Alfred questioned, but Sealand didn't answer. He was already going to the door.

After knocking a few times in a familiar rhythm, a stern looking man with blond hair and glasses opened it. He looked first at the child in front of him, and then at the others, who were slowly making their way towards him.

"I'm sorry," Sealand began. "I shouldn't be bringing you any more trouble, not after everything with Mathias and Emil. But this was the only safe place I could think of, and my friends are in trouble, so, um, I need a place to hide for a little while."

Slowly, the man at the door nodded. "That… seems fine…", he muttered. "But why… are you… apologizing?"

Sobs came from the child as he rushed to embrace the man. "Papa, I'm sorry!", he cried.

The man's only response was to return the embrace and mutter "Welcome home."

* * *

 _ **AN- Sweden's here! Yeah, he's the only Nordic that's not an enemy or dead. But I've been planning this for a while, and it made sense for Sealand to go to him. After all, they can't really hurt Sweden so long as they want to give Finland a reason to fight, right? Ehehe, I'll go into all that next time. I'll be starting Sealand's backstory now, and it might be a few parts long, so have fun with that. Oh. And Switzerland, Japan, Italy, and several others are really in for a bad time. That too.**_

 _ **Also, sorry about how long this update took, but I should be back to a normal update schedule now, since my life's a bit less busy now. Thank you for your patience. And thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	35. SS1- Spirit of the Sea

_Magitalia_

 _Siren Song I- Spirit of the Sea_

The inside of the house Sealand had brought them to was kind of simultaneously the coolest and most depressing thing Alfred had ever seen. This was because it literally looked like the inside of a furniture store. There were countless wooden tables and chairs and such arranged nicely all over the place, but nothing looked even remotely used. It was nice, but completely lifeless.

Also, the place was huge, like even bigger than his own house, and yet it seemed no one but that guy Sealand had called his "Papa" lived there. Hardly any lights were on in the place, and just a quick glance down the hall told him that almost all the doors in the entire house were closed. Heck, if the single couch that looked used having sheets and a pillow on it was any indication, the guy probably slept in the living room.

This wasn't stopping Erika from looking at the place like it was some sort of fancy hotel, with starry eyes and a gaping mouth. Then again, she did the same for a crap motel. And his car. And a half eaten bag of Corn Nuts. Fangirling over non-exciting things was probably a fugitive orphan thingy.

"Is it really alright if we stay here?", she asked the guy for what seemed like the thousandth time.

His response was a difficult to hear mutter, but it was something like "There's not much of a choice here," and that seemed to be enough to shut her up for the next thirty seconds.

On what looked like basically a never used wooden bench, they'd laid Ludwig out and made an attempt to assess his wounds. Which, to be honest, were actually really cool looking. He was covered in fractal burns and long thin cuts, and while yes, it looked really painful, he was almost disappointed when he realized both seemed to be fading. Okay, someone like boring Ludi would probably not like all those, but if Alfred had been the one beat up like that, he would have been hoping for at least a few cool scars out of the deal.

So at least two people here were alright, but Alfred didn't feel like he belonged in that number. His head still felt like it was swimming around, like he was probably running a fever or something and maybe should lie down, but he had no desire to rest. All that had happened was still too fresh in his scrambled mind. Arthur… he'd tricked them, but there had to be something more to it, right? His big brother wasn't like that, he couldn't be. There was something he was missing, he was sure of it, but he couldn't even begin to think straight about what it could be.

And the other two that had been left behind, Feliciano and Kiku, they definitely weren't alright. Sealand wouldn't take them back, but Alfred a terrible feeling that it was more likely they'd see their friends again as enemies than it was they would be able to escape fine on their own. Actually, with all that in mind, he could take Ludwig off the "people who are okay" list; he'd probably completely freak out the second he came to and realized his friends were gone.

Sealand was definitely also in the number of people in their group that were not okay. He hadn't said another word since entering the house, and he wouldn't do much but look at the floor and try to look like he wasn't crying. It was hard to watch, to the point where Alfred forced himself to his feet and walked over to the kid, stumbling a bit on the way over.

"Look, are you okay?", he asked, even if he knew the answer.

Hesitating, Sealand gave a nod. "It's just so weird to be back here," he muttered. "And it's so weird to be back in my body. Plus, everything that happened at the base and I'm sorry about Italy and Japan and I hadn't seen Mama and Nor in years and-"

"You saw Tino and Lukas?", his "Papa" interrupted. The man cast a glance towards Ludwig as he said this. "I should have guessed it. That boy was attacked by him, wasn't he?"

"I guess? I mean, I wasn't there," Sealand admitted. "Looks like Mama's powers, though, and he was right there when we found him."

With a solemn nod, the man cast another glance around the house. "Did you, uh, ever hear from that friend of yours? Er, Wy, was it?"

Sealand looked surprised by this question, but shook his head. "No, never. She's probably dead, though. I mean, they found her brother, and he got recruited, so even if she ever found him it can't have ended well."

"But your brother, I'm guessing it didn't end well with him either?"

Something about those words stung before the uneasy look Sealand gave him indicated that this "brother" was Arthur. "Um, he kind of turned against us," Alfred explained. "Actually, whole thing was sort of a trap him and Francis set up."

Shock passed over Sealand's face, and it occurred to Alfred that he hadn't even brought that up yet. "I should have guessed. Mama kept coming to fight him, and I always ran off, so he probably got orders then."

"Um, excuse me," Erika interrupted politely. "But, if you don't mind me asking, who are you talking about. Your "Mama" is Finland, right?"

Both Sealand and his "Papa" nodded. "Yes. That's m' wife," the older man explained.

"Your… wife?"

Raising a hand, the man indicated a wedding band on his ring finger. "My wife."

"So Sealand is your son?"

The man gave a shrug. "Could say that. We took him in, and he lived with us and the rest of the family for a while."

"It's a long story, actually," Sealand added.

A story? Well, Alfred was curious about his sort-of little brother. "We've got time," he countered.

"Yes, we'd love to know more about all this," Erika further pressed.

Gulping, Sealand gave an agreeing nod. "Well, I guess I could tell you. It all started- well, I guess it all started when Ladonia got killed."

"Who?"

"Friend of mine," clarified Sealand. "He was another micronation. But… no, it really started back when you all started dying the first time, then."

* * *

Sealand was born from the spirits of a nation that, as far as most other nations were concerned, was not a real country. So as the spirit of Sealand, he made it his life's goal to get other spirits of nations, specifically England, to recognize him so it might lead to him helping his homeland.

England, of course, refused to acknowledge that he was as proper a spirit as himself and others. And yeah, this was true, but the anomaly of his existence gave him some pretty cool powers. He could teleport like others, and he had his own weapon in the form of a super cool cannon, but because he represented a place that was literally made of metal, it made him nigh-indestructible. Plus, he could shapeshift a little into a little green flying rabbit fairy, and that was cool, he supposed.

In his attempts to find someone to recognize him, he made plenty of friends. Latvia and the other Baltics were quite fond of him, and he liked their company in return. Sure, it didn't help him get recognized, but it was nice to have friends. England too came to accept him as a thing that existed, even if not a proper country. He was like an annoying, grumpy big brother, and Sealand was fine with that.

There wasn't terribly much to do other than try and fail to get recognized for what felt like ages, but Sealand grew content with his existence. He was proud of what he was. He was proud to be born from everyone's hopes and dreams, and even if there wasn't much to fight for, per say, he was happy to fight to protect them. His kind were incredible and powerful, and they were all creatures of immense power. Any time he was lucky enough to see them fight, he'd be in complete awe at how powerful they were.

One time, he managed to sneak into a meeting of the G8, and it was the coolest thing he had ever seen. All those powerful people, and they pretty much just fought to blow off steam in an incredible display. It was confusing, 'cause even if they called it a G8 meeting, there were nine people there, but it was still really, really cool.

But, not too long after that, something strange happened. England, whenever he'd be willing to talk to him, would tell him really odd stories.

"It's so strange! No one's heard from Russia in months. I would be worried, but I'm more just hoping he comes back so America will stop going off about how he's started trying to take over space or something."

A few months later, it became an actual question. "You know Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, right? Well, they've seemed to have pretty much vanished as well. Have you seen them?"

Then, it was a slightly rattled letter sent a while later. "Norway told me Iceland saw something dangerous happening in the future. And no, it wasn't America and Russia blowing us all up. He was vague about it, but I'm guessing it's something about why so many of us have been vanishing lately. Be careful and don't get involved. You aren't as strong as us, you shouldn't concern yourself with our issues." That sounded like an underhanded form of "be careful", he thought.

And not too long after that, England talked with a pale, shocked expression of horror. Sealand was scared enough by this alone, but then he realized his cold, harsh brother's voice was shaking as he told him the news. "They- they're saying the Nordics died. No, not died, they were killed by- by something. There was nothing but blood all over the place they were meeting, and one of their bosses found Norway's hairpin among it. He never takes that thing off. I- I don't want believe it, Norway's a dear friend, but, I just don't understand how something like this could happen. We aren't supposed to be able to die unless something somehow damages our bodies beyond repair, but what could have done that?"

It was a while before he heard anything else, but then England actually came to visit him at his home in a panicked rush one night, and he knew something was terribly wrong. "Something is definitely coming after us," he'd said. "Something that can kill us. China and a lot of his family have already been killed. Hong Kong too. The rest of us are going into hiding, so please, for the love of God, be careful, Sealand!"

He didn't hear too much from him after that. Actually, he didn't hear too much from anyone. But it was fine. He could still protect his home, and he was made of metal, so he would be safe. He still broke down in tears when he received letters confirming that the Baltics had all died, then more when hearing that Australia and New Zealand had been killed, and even more when hearing Scotland and Wales and the Irelands had fallen, but he was fine. He was a country, he was the hope of his people, he was strong.

And then he saw England again. England, who was crying and hugged him for the first time he could even remember. England, who was too heartbroken to say a word. Sealand was sure this could only mean that America had been killed, and that seemed impossible. America was so strong, and so brave, and how did that even make any sense?

That was the last time he saw England, and the next thing he heard of him was a letter delivered by a small white bird. It was from France, and it was very brief, but it told him just enough to let Sealand know that the entire world was falling apart: England had died.

He was positive after that he would be next, so he refused to stop hiding. But, so long later that he'd lost count of the time that had gone by, a tiny yellow bird came bearing yet another letter, this one from Canada.

"Sealand," it read. "If you are reading this, it means that France and I are dead. That means you are the final remaining member of this family. Everyone else has fallen. Only the Axis and Liechtenstein are still alive, and I doubt they'll hold out for much longer. I barely know what is attacking us, but I do know that it's something far more powerful than us. But, I know they kill by destroying our bodies, and your body is unable to be destroyed. So, protect this world in our place, because what you are allows you to do so.

"But, there are still a few Micronations left, and other Nations and Micronations will be born, so they might be attacked. Protect them too. We are sorry for asking such a thing of you, but you are all that's left, and we believe in you. I know England would say the same, and perhaps one day we'll meet again."

That note placed a deep pit in the bottom of his stomach. He really was all that was left, wasn't he? But, it also filled him with excitement. He had inherited this world to protect, and because he was Sealand, he was the only one who could do it.

The note ended with another thing that was less mad, but still something he took to heart. "Also, the bird I sent this with was the beloved pet of Prussia. His brother Germany entrusted me with it, so I ask you to protect her with your life, because she is all that remains of someone precious. So long as you keep it close, your power will keep her alive."

And so, Sealand took on this job as defender of the world. And, just as had been said, new Micronations did spring up. He protected them too, and did stop multiple attempts on their lives by what he could only describe as robotic drones equipped with a weapon that could shred a body to pieces. Literally, those things would reduce any normal human to nothing but shreds of guts in seconds, and even with his metal body, they still hurt a lot.

And he took out these things successfully until one day, he failed. Even though he'd tried his hardest to protect him, an entire swarm of them had descended upon his friend Ladonia and wounded him enough to bring him to the point of death.

Ladonia managed to hang on just long enough, though, to give Sealand a final request by pressing an old metal cross-shaped hairpin into his hand.

"Please," he'd weakly begged. "This was Norway's, I heard. It was the only proof I had that I wasn't the only Nordic, but it's not mine. Find his reincarnation and give it to him for me. Promise?"

He promised. He promised with all his heart, but he had no idea what he'd meant by "reincarnation", so he decided to go ask Seborga about it. Seborga, as a child of Rome, knew about all sorts of old legends, and if there was something saying that fallen nations got reincarnated, he would know.

* * *

"But, that doesn't make any sense!", Erika objected. "How did Ladonia manage to not get ripped to pieces if there was an entire swarm after him?"

"Yeah, and you just sort of skimmed over that whole 'protector of the world' thing!", Alfred added. "That sounds awesome! Tell us about that!"

Sealand sighed. "Look, it's a story, and it happened a long time ago. It's not gonna be perfect. And the protecting the world thing wasn't that important to the part of the story I'm telling. You just want to know about Mama and Sweden, right?"

"Sweden?"

"That would be me," the man grumbled.

Wait, that guy was Sweden? "So you're the land of IKEA and Pewdiepie and red-flavored fish candy?", Alfred pressed. "Dude! That's awesome! I love Swedish Fish!"

"Is that really what you think of me?", Sweden pretty much sighed.

* * *

 ** _AN- And so we start the Ballad of Sealand, with some added framing courtesy of America. See, it's interesting, and that's why I'm telling it. Just keep in mind that Sealand is telling the story, and he's not really the most humble or trustworthy narrator, so some things are a bit exaggerated. Also, hi, Ladonia! Bye, Ladonia! And this is the only mention of England's other siblings you're getting. And if you didn't catch it, the G8 was also including either China or Romano, not entirely sure which, so take your pick. So stay tuned next time for some Micronation fun time! So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**

 ** _PS, I'm planning to start writing extra chapters in case I get sick or busy again and have to post something to explain an unexpected delay in the schedule. The one I'm working on now is going to be about Germany and Canada (not Ludwig and Matthew), and explain how Canada had Gilbird here._**


	36. SS2- Aliunde

_Magitalia_

 _Siren Song II- Aliunde_

Even if Sealand had never known the eldest two children of Rome well, he knew their legacy. One was clumsy and a bad fighter, and the other even harsher than England had been, but the two held a great deal of power and knowledge, though no one was quite sure to what extent.

Seborga too was a child of Rome, but also the spirit of a micronation. And he was powerful enough to prove that this status was no joke. He also, like his older brothers, knew many legends passed down by Ancients, and surely there would be something about reincarnation in his expansive repertoire.

Upon being asked this, however, Seborga went quiet for a moment before asking "You- do you really need to know about this?"

He explained it had been Ladonia's last request to pass Norway's hair clip onto his reincarnation, and Seborga just sort of gulped. "Ah, well, I know a handful of things about that, but those are the ones I'm sort of not supposed to tell people about."

But, with enough begging, he finally cracked.

"Fine. They say if ever a Nation is to die in an incident unrelated to the people whose wishes give them life, they will be reborn into a mortal body."

Sealand gave a small gasp upon hearing that. "So that means everyone will be alive as a human?", he questioned. "So England and everyone aren't really dead?"

"You could say that, yeah."

"Why didn't you say something about this before?", he questioned. "If everyone had known they would just become mortal-"

"-then they would have taken death lightly," Seborga finished. "And besides, let's say someone figured that out and decided they were sick of immortality, or were upset with someone they'd lost a war against and wanted to take them out of commission for a few decades, or something like that. I'm pretty sure your brother and France would have killed each other a few dozen times by now if they knew they'd come back."

That seemed to be a good point. "So, I just need to find Norway's mortal reincarnation? How do I do that? Will he remember who he was, or look the same, or-"

"I have no idea," Seborga admitted, and by this point he was flipping through an old book that seemed to have been written in Latin. "I'm pretty sure they won't remember their old lives, but no idea on the look thing.

"But, there might be one way to tell," Seborga added as he seemed to arrive at what he was looking at and opened the book to a page with a drawing of what looked like a charm bracelet on it. "See, even though they're mortal, they'll still be able to use their magic, but differently than they did before. Instead of coming from their homeland, they come from… from…"

Squinting, Seborga sighed. "It just says " _aliunde_ ". From another source; what is that even supposed to mean? Thanks, Rome! Real helpful here!"

"The wording's real vague too," complained his friend. "I can't even tell if it's supposed to say their magic comes from somewhere else or their mortal forms come from another country."

Despite it clearly frustrating Seborga, Sealand still wanted to know more. "Is there anything else?", he pressed.

"Just something about when they awaken, their power will be restored and they will be drawn to other reincarnations in order to-"

* * *

Sealand trailed off a bit at this point, casting an odd look at Erika, who glared and pressed "In order to what?"

He gave a sort of "you wouldn't like it" look and muttered "well, it hasn't happened yet, so…"

"What hasn't happened yet?"

"Um, in order to regain memories of their past lives?", Sealand provided, sounding sort of like he was not telling the full truth. Maybe because she still sort of hated him?

Whatever it was, she still looked a bit uneasy at this answer and muttered "...oh" before letting him continue.

* * *

Upon hearing that, Sealand's mind raced with possibilities. So he could get everyone back? And they would have their powers too! "Well, how do we awaken them?"

Seborga chuckled. "What, are you gonna try it?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, for one, if they come back, those things that went after them would too," Seborga began. "And- well, they're probably happy like they are. Do you really want to walk into some normal person's life and tell them they're the reincarnation of one of us?"

"They're our family! Our friends! And they need to protect their world again, right?", Sealand countered.

He didn't understand why Seborga was so hesitant about it. Was it that he knew how much it would screw over the humans who the Nations had become? Or, later, he wondered if those old stories passed on from Rome had known what whoever had gone after everyone in the first place was planning.

But, at the time, Seborga just smirked and shrugged. "Alright, you think it's such a good idea? Fine, maybe I'm wrong and it's not incredibly stupid. Let's get a second opinion."

By a second opinion, given that he grabbed his wrist and the light of teleportation enveloped them, and when it faded, they were in front of a house that conspicuous lacked a driveway, he meant Wy. Who saw their arrival and quickly threw a pallet knife at them, barely missing Seborga's head.

"What do you want?", she asked. "I'm sort of busy, you know." She gestured to the canvas she was standing in front of for emphasis.

An overbearing grin enveloped Seborga's face, and he pulled a package of something labeled "vine charcoal" out of his pocket. "Look, I know you are a very busy person, but this little squirt had a stupid idea, and I need you to talk him out of it."

She took the package out of his hand, looking at it with awe. "This stuff's expensive, where did you-"

"Well, I happen to dabble in-"

Her expression turned sour. "It was Italy's, wasn't it?"

"He doesn't need it, does he?", counted Seborga.

Wy rolled her eyes, but pocketed the package all the same. "Wow, you really know the way to a girl's heart, don't you? Whatever, what was it you wanted me to tell Sealand not to do?"

They explained the whole thing to her, and afterwards, she nodded and said something that made Seborga recoil. That being "Actually, I agree with Sealand. We need to get everyone to get their powers back."

"Oh, come on!", groaned Seborga. "You were the chosen one, Wy, and you messed it up! Who else will he listen to, Kugelmugel?"

"But if we can, we need to make sure that they're around, right?", Wy countered. "I mean, from what you all told me, they protected their people, and it would be unfair to not allow that."

"People are getting on fine without them," Seborga stated. "And besides, that's not even what it was like, and how would you know anyways?"

That statement actually warranted him very nearly getting punched before Wy seemed to think better of it. "And I want to fix that," she huffed. "I grew up only knowing you lot as my kind, and I want to meet proper Nations. I want to meet Australia. He's my 'brother', isn't he? So I want to know him like you knew yours."

Seborga raised his hands in surrender. "Fine. I get your point. And I guess it won't be the end of the world if we wake them up, so go right ahead. But I'm coming with you idiots, because if you're doing all this, I need to make sure Ven and Roma are alright."

Sealand punched the air in victory. "So it's settled! We'll look for everyone's reincarnations, and we'll get our families back!"

They set off looking a few days later, with absolutely no idea what to look for. Seborga had trouble getting anything more out of his ancient texts, or maybe just remained tight lipped out of spite. So, all they really were able to do was try to find something that could lead them further. Look in records, look online, try to find someone that sounded like they could be what they were looking for.

Their leads remained non-existent for ages, until the eventually just took to wandering around and hoping maybe they would come across something. Basically, it was a long and boring process that none should have to suffer the details of.

But, finally, one day Sealand finally found something promising. Okay, that wasn't quite right. It was more like he felt something promising.

He was in a pretty normal American city, hoping maybe by some chance he might happen to find some sort of lead, as he'd gotten frustrated trying to find Norway specifically. And, as he was walking, he felt a sudden chill that he couldn't quite explain.

Looking around, he didn't see anything unusual, or anything near him at all really but a young man wearing a pink scarf. That chill… it had felt familiar, almost. It was like how everything would freeze up whenever Russia would come by when he was visiting the Baltics and he would come by and… well, send everyone there into hysterics.

Sealand turned and started to follow the guy emanating the weird chill, and his heart almost stopped when he turned around. Violet eyes, prominent nose, vacant smile; he looked a lot like Russia too. "Oh, hello little one," he greeted with kindness that still felt uneasy. "Are you lost?"

"Uh- I- um-" Sealand didn't know what to say, but he was sure he'd finally found something. "What's your name?", that was all he could come up with.

After a few slow blinks, the young man replied with "Ivan Braginsky. Why do you ask?"

It sounded Russian enough. Agh, what else could he ask. "Sisters. Do- do you have sisters?", he stuttered out, remembering something suddenly.

"Yes. Dear Natalia and Katyusha," Ivan replied, adding after a moment "You're one of Natalia's school friends, aren't you?"

Stunned into silence, Sealand just nodded. "That's nice. I'll tell her you said hello, alright?"

And Russia left, just like that, leaving Sealand too confused to go after him.

He asked Wy and Seborga about it later that day, and the two of them basically mocked him for not jumping on the opportunity and told him to go back the next day and try to actually talk to him. And so he did just that, and felt like a bit of a stalker for waiting around the same street corner until he showed up. Well, that was totally what it was, but still.

"Oh? It's you again," Ivan stated as he came by again, wearing the same scarf and emanating the same cold. "Do you always walk here, little one?"

"I need to talk to you!", Sealand exclaimed. "Um, see, it's sort of a long story, but I think you're kind of like maybe…" He searched for the words to describe it all. "Russia" was all that came out, and he got a weird look.

"Pardon? I have family from Russia, if that's what you mean."

Sealand quickly realized he'd just said something really stupid, and turned red. "Ah, no, that's not what I'm saying!", he exclaimed.

But Ivan was already walking off. "Little boy, you should get home," he advised as he rounded the corner.

Dread filled him as he realized that now he probably wouldn't want to talk to some crazy, rambling, rude kid. But, at the back of his mind, he remembered that skill he so rarely used. If he couldn't talk as some kid, maybe he could talk as a magical fairy creature?

So, he transformed into that green rabbit form and rushed back towards Ivan, whose stared at him like he was some sort of monster. Clearing his throat and his mind, Sealand tried to explain himself clearly.

"Hello there! You're Ivan, right?"

He got a shaky nod, and relief flooded him. He didn't seem to be associating him with the weird kid from before.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you!"

Ivan picked up a large tree branch and put it in the perfect position to hit him. "What are you?"

"A magical creature, duh. Please put that down, I just want to talk to you."

Despite lowering the tree branch, the icy aura around Ivan only intensified. "Um, you see, you seem to have some pretty strong magic."

"Magic?" Ivan repeated. "Whatever do you mean?"

"It always gets cold around you, doesn't it?"

Slowly, Ivan nodded in agreement. "I find this scarf always makes me feel colder," he explained. "But I don't want to stop wearing it. My big sister made it for me, so it's very precious, see?"

The scarf? Was that important? "Uh, try taking it off, then," Sealand ordered. "I'll hold it for you."

Ivan took the scarf off and handed it to him, and his eyes shot open in shock as soon as his hand slipped from it. The air felt warmer, but that wasn't what seemed to be surprising him. "I- I can't see you! Why is that?"

Sealand remembered something vaguely that England had told him once. "Well, only people with magic can see magical creatures!", he mused. But he'd never realized that meant him. If Seborga had his brothers' light powers, then maybe he was a magical creature because of England's magic? After all, any other transformations he'd seen, like Wy's Kookaburra or Molossia's Ringtail, were normal animals and not weird fairy creatures. He'd never really transformed much to try it out, but maybe that was it!

"Oh, well, does my scarf make me magic, then?", Russia questioned.

It must have, so he said it did and tried to explain everything to him. About being Russia, and about what had happened to him, and about how he was a reincarnation and needed to fight for the sake of justice. The only word he got out of Ivan was a shaky "huh?", and a distant stare.

"Uh, this is probably a bit much for you to take in," Sealand admitted. "I- I'll come back later, alright?"

After a few days, and plenty of advice on how to proceed from there from Wy and Seborga, they decided the best course of action was probably to just check up on his progress and in the meantime, use his magical transformation to search for others. After all, if only reincarnations could see him, then surely he could find others.

And he did so, and surprisingly, almost all of them were not terribly far from where he'd found Russia. Turkey was a few towns away, and Romania was only a half hour drive or so. Not to mention that Russia's sisters turned out to be Belarus and Ukraine.

He started noticing a pattern too. Each of them seemed to have some object, not unlike Russia's scarf, that let them see him. Belarus had a hair ribbon her big brother had given her, and Ukraine had a necklace her little sister had made her with a carrot charm. They all seemed to be attached to someone precious to them, and they all seemed to give them power.

And so they came to understand that part of Rome's writing. The _aliunde_ from which the powers came was the emotions of the people they loved, and the people who loved them. And that was channeled through an object that a precious person had given them. He hadn't quite figured out how to get them to access their former powers, but he was sure with enough time he could get there.

But that time never really came, as it seemed that the enemy figured it out before he did. When he was talking to a girl who reminded him of Monaco who could see him, the two of them were attacked by a trio surrounded with icy winds and a dark aura. He was shocked and heartbroken when he realized that it was the exact appearances of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, just as he remembered from all those years ago.

"Good news, little bunny!", Russia greeted, accompanied by Belarus freezing Monaco in place. "Someone approached us and told us how to use our powers! We just have to access them from within and let them take us over."

Ukraine summoned the pitchfork she once fought with, and drew closer to Monaco. "And they told us that they need us to find all the others and team up to save the world! Isn't that lovely?", she continued.

"But they told us to not be afraid to use a bit of force," Belarus added with a chuckle. A weird beam of light enveloped the injured Monaco, and Sealand let out a panicked cry.

He knew this had to be whoever had attacked them in the first place. They knew something he didn't, he was sure of it, and they were using the reincarnations for their own goals. Wild guesswork, sure, and a lot of it didn't fall into place until later, but it was a fair assumption given that they were coming at him with their weapons.

Icy wind began to eat Sealand up. "And they told us to keep you out of the way, alright?", Russia finished, and icicles began to dig into his skin.

Even with his durable body, Sealand was still terribly injured by what those three had done, and as they left in another flash of light, he transformed back into his proper body and began to limp away. He didn't make it too far, though, until he collapsed.

The next thing he remembered, he was laying on a couch inside a house he didn't recognize with a man with light blond hair and a kind smile standing beside him. A man he would later know as his Mama.

"Oh, you're finally awake!", the man exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

* * *

"That isn't how I remember it," Sweden interrupted. "It was Lukas who brought you in, and Mathias who was with you when you woke up."

"Just let me tell the story, alright?", Sealand asked. "It-it's more dramatic that way!"

"Alright then."

* * *

 _ **AN- Wow, that was longer than I thought it would be. Wy and Seborga and Russia are just such lovely characters, and I wanted them to shine a bit. Also, Monaco, because I have literally run out of characters who were not Monaco. But Seborga, well, he clearly has things to hide, but honestly I think a large part of that was just that he didn't want anyone exploiting Italy's powers like Rome foresaw. And Nordics! They're doing the thing now! Ah, forget it. Gravity Falls is over and RWBY's season finale was painful. Let's just wait until all these lovely countries start suffering too, shall we? So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, sorry if I screwed up the latin thing. But trust me, this won't be the last time I butcher innocent languages here.**_


	37. SS3- Magic's Calling

_Magitalia_

 _Siren's Song III- Magic's Calling_

Sealand woke up with Matthias standing over him, apparently, if Papa's memory is so good. He probably said something more like "You're awake? Sweet! You okay?"

And Sealand was confused. Confused as to why he was on a couch in a place he didn't recognize with a guy he'd never met standing over him. Also, he was confused as to why everything hurt so much and felt kind of fuzzy, like television static.

But upon looking down, he kind of figured out why. His entire body seemed to be covered in ice crystals, probably due to whatever Russia had done, and they were sparking with some purple aura.

And while Matthias, or rather the guy whose name he did not know, called someone over and repeated that he'd woken up, Sealand started to panic a bit. This mortal had brought him into his home with his family, and that wasn't really something they were supposed to do. England's number one rule was to never get involved with anyone who didn't have to be caught up in something dangerous, and avoid bringing mortals into it at all costs.

He was really hoping he could just lie and say he passed out and would be fine and really needed to be getting home, but then the rest of the guy's family showed up, and Sealand quickly realized that he was hardly bringing mortals into this. A serious looking man, a kindly smiling man, a younger guy with indigo eyes and an expression somewhere between confusion and intrigue, and a boy who looked rather unenthused and bore violet eyes had joined the spiky haired guy from before. These five reminded him far too much of the Nordics to be a coincidence.

"So, what exactly happened… here?", asked someone, (Sealand remembered it being Finland, but he was probably wrong) who gestured to his ice-crystal-ridden body.

And Sealand began to freak out a little bit more. If these were who he'd been looking for, then the last thing he would want to do is awaken their powers so whoever had taken Russia and his sisters would take them. But if they weren't, then he still didn't want to get mortals involved. Lying seemed the best option, but how could he explain the obvious magicalness of his injuries?

"I'm, um, well…", he searched for something that they might believe and not ask further about. "A fairy!"

He got a lot of odd looks for this, but the indigo-eyed one nodded. "Go on."

"Magical creature. I'm actually this green flying rabbit thing but mortals can't see it so I can't show you," he improvised rapidly. "And I got attacked by, er, ice demons. Really did a number on me, but you saved me and I am eternally grateful!"

More staring. The youngest of them rolled his eyes. "I'm not lying!", he lied.

"I believe you," the indigo-eyed one stated. He seemed oddly excited, like he was looking at a famous star rather than a weird kid.

A laugh came from the spiky haired one. "Of course you do! You always used to drag me into the woods to look for fairies when we were kids, and you write all that Harry Potter fanfi-"

He was silenced by the indigo-eyed guy pulling on his ear. "Shut up and let the fairy talk!"

"Um, I didn't have much more to say," Sealand muttered. "But, um, thanks for helping me."

The smiling one nodded. "It's no problem! Whatever you are, it would have been wrong to just leave you there-"

"-And we couldn't really call the police with ice crystals coming out of your body," the violet-eyed boy interrupted.

"-and you're welcome to stay here until you've recovered," he finished, unfazed by the interjection.

Things were weirdly silent for a moment; an unspoken "we didn't agree to that but you said it and you can't really take it back". Finally, the serious looking man spoke in a hard-to-hear mutter. "We should let you rest."

"But, um, would you mind telling us your name?", the indigo-eyed guy quickly asked.

Sealand was the obvious answer, but that name might raise some questions. Like why it was his name. So he spat out the first name that came to mind, and that happened to be "Peter".

"Is that a normal name for fairies?", he asked, seeming more interested than skeptical.

However, before Sealand could come up with an answer, the spiky haired dude pulled him away. "Now now, he needs to get his rest," he stated in a rather mocking voice.

Everyone awkwardly filed out, with Norway glaring irritatedly at Denmark as they walked off. Sealand laid back down and stared at the ceiling. He reached into his pocket to find the hairpin was still there.

Was he right? Were these the Nordics? He might have to stick around for a few days to find out. Besides, it hurt to move, and he barely wanted to face Wy and Seborga after the disaster with Russia. Really, he had no choice but to stick around for a little while. It was not because he thought they seemed nice, and Norway was seemingly fangirling over the notion of having a fairy in his house. Or maybe it was that, but he didn't really realize it at the time.

So, despite barely moving from the couch over the next little while, he learned a lot about his hosts. Tino was almost too kind, checking up on him frequently and gladly bringing him whatever he wanted. Berwald was kind too, but in a more distant way. As in he sort of just lingered whenever he was around and didn't say much, but definitely checked on him in the middle of the night.

Mathias, on the other hand, talked a lot. And he seemed actually interested in Sealand, on a level that didn't really force him to make up that much. He more asked about his friends and what he liked to do, and with a few name swaps and edits, he could answer those sorts of things truthfully. Lukas was a whole different story on that, and he pretty much had to lie through his teeth about all the little incredibly precise questions he kept asking about the nature of magic. The attention was nice, sure, but Sealand hated how much he seemed to be enraptured by the completely made up on the spot stories.

Emil was also there, seeming to avoid conversation with the others as much as possible. He did seem nice, though, and brought Sealand a few "examples of human literature" in the form of completely random kid's magazines and a few old novelizations of children's films. Sealand resisted the urge to point out that he was probably older than his mother, because he actually enjoyed them for the most part. Also, considering no one had mentioned any other family and not even Tino and Berwald looked old enough to be parents, he figured the mother thing might be a bit of a touchy subject.

Those ice crystals faded in time, but the weird, staticy feeling they brought didn't. Whenever he was sure he was alone, Sealand attempted to summon his weapon, but found he couldn't. Was that still the doing of those injuries? He was a little scared to try to teleport, but he knew he couldn't stay much longer. After all, as nice as everyone was, the house was theirs and he was cutting into their time and money.

So, that night, he slipped into Lukas's room with the cross hairpin in hand. He knew Norway had been a lover of magic like England and had seemed similar to Lukas in appearance and in disposition, so he was almost positive that he was Norway's reincarnation. Ladonia had asked it of him as a last request, so he prayed he wasn't wrong.

"Um, Lukas?", he'd questioned as he opened the door. "I, um, have something for you."

Lukas looked up from a thick book spread out on his bed and slid the pencil he was holding behind his ear. "You do?"

"Uh, here." He held out the hairpin, and Lukas took it. "It's, well…" What could he say about this without revealing his own lies? But he had to at least tell him about Ladonia somehow. "My friend, um, he gave it to me before he died and said to give it to… um, a nice human who liked magic." Yeah, that would work.

Staring at the hairpin as if it was something a lot more remarkable than an old looking piece of metal, Lukas murmured "thank you…" and placed it in his hair. Glancing at himself in a mirror hanging across the room, he smiled. "It's really nice. I like this a lot. But, why would you choose me for something so precious to you?"

"You're the first person I've met like that," he lied. Ignoring how interested Romania had been in magic. "Plus, I'm probably gonna leave soon, so I wanted to thank you for being so nice to me."

"You're leaving?" Lukas sounded sad when saying this. "Well, I'm glad you've healed," he stated. "But we'll all miss you a lot."

Sealand knew he probably looked kind of dumb after hearing that, but he was actually surprised. "You'll… miss me? But I've just been wasting everyone's time! And-"

"Stop." Lukas cut him off coldly. "We've been more than happy to have you. Even though it hasn't been long, we've all grown to like having you around. Even my little brother, and he doesn't admit to like anyone. Heck, I've heard Tino talking about how you're like the kid he's always wanted. So, come back and visit sometime, alright?"

"Okay!" Sealand tried to tell himself he was agreeing to this because he should protect them for Ladonia's sake. But no, he really just liked being around them. They were like England, except they didn't try to ignore him on purpose.

So, the next morning, he tried to say his goodbyes and teleport back to face Wy and Seborga, but as the familiar light enveloped him, he felt knives and flames cutting into his body and fell to the ground instead, crying out as the light and pain both ebbed away. Everyone quickly tried to make sure he was alright, and as his head pounded, he could sort of make out one of them suggesting that maybe he wasn't actually better.

"No, I'm fine!", he insisted. "I- I can walk home!"

He pushed himself to his feet, and started shakily towards the door, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"You aren't in any condition to travel," Lukas insisted. "Besides, you told me you lived in a rather distant glave and were only here on business regarding those ice demons, did you not?"

Gulping, Sealand cursed himself for saying something like that. And the way Lukas said it made it seem like he knew he was lying (and yes, Lukas would admit later that he knew he was lying), so he turned back around and sat on the floor. "Um, I guess you're right," he admitted. "Probably shouldn't try that."

And so he ended up staying with the family for a bit longer than expected. He didn't really know what to do; he couldn't get home, and he couldn't contact Wy or Seborga since he didn't know either's phone number. And he was a little worried about his own responsibilities being handled. Who would protect his homeland without him there? And take care of Prussia's bird? ...Actually, probably Wy on both counts, but still.

It was approaching a month of him being there before anything really happened. But Lukas had convinced him to go out with him on a trip to the grocery store, and they were having a rather fun time at least on the way there before a familiar looking guy approached them.

"Excuse me, but you haven't seen a flying green rabbit around here, have you?", asked a man who looked almost identical to Romania as he had before his death. Lukas sort of gaped at him as Sealand took a few steps back. "I know it's a weird question," Romania continued. "But, I'm sort of looking for it. My, er, friends lost track of it around here a while back, and we'd like to take care of it."

Lukas seemed to know that meant him, and scowled as he threw a hand in front of Sealand. "I don't know what you're talking about!", he insisted.

Romania grinned. "Ah, but Norway, I'm sure you do. Your magic, it's already there, so it had to have scouted you, right?"

"My… magic? Norway? What are you?"

A red spell circle grew under Lukas's feet. "Whatever, we'll just take you in for-"

Bright light that seemed to be coming from Norway's hairpin stopped him. "Get away from us!", Norway cried out, and the light enveloped him.

As it faded, a person who looked no different from the Norway of old was standing before him, and a sword appeared clenched in his hand. He charged Romania, who darted away and cast some sort of dark energy from spell circles behind him.

Norway blocked it and a spell circle the same shade as his eyes appeared under his feet. A spray of sparks appeared as red-violet streaks crossed the air and rammed into Romania.

"Another magic user? We'll get along splendidly!", Romania almost giggled, and he produced the dark energy again. This time, however, Norway produced another spell circle at the other mage's feet, which seemed to attract the spell back to hit its caster.

Romania let out a small cry, and vanished in a flash of light. Norway's own transformation fell away in a similar fashion, leaving him breathing heavily and staring at the sidewalk in disbelief.

"That was awesome!", Sealand exclaimed. "You were so great! I've never seen anyone fight like that before! And that thing where you made his own thing hit him, that was so-"

"What was that?", Lukas asked, looking dead serious and not at all excited about the fact that he'd just magicked. "Who was that? How did I do that?"

Sealand knew it would be pretty easy to keep with the fairy story and say that cross pin had magical properties that let mortals use magic, but no, he'd heard Romania call him Norway. It was a bit late for lying, so he just grabbed Lukas's hand and said "Let's go home. I wanna explain it to everyone."

Despite annoyed sputtering, Lukas didn't object to this, and once they were home and everyone was actually there, he tried to find the words. He told them who he really was, about the Nations and his family all dying and Ladonia and Russia. He told them everything he could think of, and that he was sure they were the reincarnations of the Nordic Quintet.

Everyone stared at him for far too long before Tino broke the silence. "I'm so sorry, Sealand. That must have been really hard for you."

Just hearing that made Sealand tear up a bit. He'd just said things that should be shattering their view of the world, and Tino took the time to worry about his feelings. "Thank you," he said, his voice much smaller and breaking a lot more than he would have liked. "But, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I don't want you all to have to be involved in this."

"Are you kidding?", Mathias cried out. "This sounds super cool! We're heroes reunited by space and time to protect the world. And we'll take down those bad guys that are using our kin for evil!"

"Stop being ridiculous," Emil dryly countered. "We need to be careful. Even if we have magic, it doesn't mean we can't be hurt."

Berwald just shrugged. "Well, looks like we don't a choice. I don't understand any of this, but I'm sure we'll be fine."

"It makes sense!", Lukas insisted. "I mean, more sense than all that fairy nonsense, at least."

Mathias cast him a weird sort of glare, and Emil chuckled.

"Well, I'll stay with you guys to make sure you can understand everything," Sealand affirmed. "Besides, it's my fault you all got dragged into this, so it's my job to protect you."

All the mixed uneasiness in the room seemed to turn to joy. It was like Lukas had said, everyone really had grown to care about him, and they all seemed happy to hear that.

* * *

"And that's how I know the Nordics!", Sealand finished.

"Hey, wait, that's not everything!", Alfred blurted out. "Isn't this supposed to be the story of how everything was terrible? I mean, it all seems so happy, but now Finland and Norway are bad guys, right? So, how did that happen?"

Sealand looked around for a moment before sighing. "Oh, well, I'd kinda rather not get into all of that."

"Oh, come on!", Alfred complained. "That's the stuff I wanted to know about."

Erika gave a sideways glance. "No, it's fine. If you don't feel comfortable talking about it-"

"Fine," Sealand agreed suddenly, stopping Erika's reassuring sentence in its tracks. "I- I'll tell you about the bad stuff. But I'll skip ahead to when Iceland got his powers, 'cause that's when it starts."

* * *

 _ **AN- Behold! At long last, the Nordics do things! And also, everyone is pretty content, but because I'm terrible, I'm not gonna let it last long. But, if anyone seems a bit out of character or anything, just remember this is Sealand's version of events that happened several years ago, so his memory might be a bit flat or idealized. The next one should be the last of Sealand's backstory, though, because I decided to move something else I had planned for it to a future extra chapter. Also, if there's any update lagging in the next little while, it's because the new Fire Emblem game is coming out and I will be very busy with Hoshido and Nohr. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	38. SS4- Broken Pieces

_Magitalia_

 _Siren Song IV- Broken Pieces_

So, Iceland was the last of the Nordics to awaken, and by that point, it'd been several months since Norway had awakened, and Sealand felt completely at home with them. They were his family, even if that wasn't what he had meant to happen, and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Well, later, he'd have very much it rather turned out another way, but that wasn't for a while still. For the time being, Sealand was happy with how things turned out.

Iceland first used his powers during a battle with Turkey, and almost immediately, they were pretty cool. (I told you about those, right? No, wait, that was back with Japan, and neither of you were there. Uh, remember how Italy was able to predict something happening a few seconds later back with Estonia and Russia? Well, it was like that, except like, instead of just happening once, it happened really frequently whenever he was transformed. And it was really cool.)

But, after he started using his powers, Emil started becoming even more distant than usual. He rarely left his room, and seemed to get upset whenever anyone would try to talk to him. Everyone, and Lukas especially were worried about him, but he refused to tell why he was acting so odd.

Sealand never really figured out the reason why that was, but if he had to guess, he'd say that Iceland saw what the future had in store for all of them, and seeing all those terrible things hurt him a lot.

But, with Emil's withdrawal came an increase in the frequency of their enemy's attacks. They seemed to come after them on an almost daily basis, and seemed to be targeting Iceland in particular. The other Nordics would ask why that was, but their answer was always silence. Sealand couldn't do much to help in these fights, though. Whatever Russia had done to him had affected him a lot differently than it ever did anyone else. If someone else got hit with his Blocking Aura, they'd regain their full powers a day later, at most, but his never returned. Was it because he was a Micronation, or because Russia was so new to his powers back then? He never figured that out either.

Those attacks would just keep coming, and it really cut into everyone's ability to live normally. So many of those were narrow scrapes, due in no small part to Denmark's tendency to exhaust his powers quickly and Iceland's frustrating tendency to keep his premonitions to himself. While injuries would heal quickly, they still happened too frequently. This was Sealand's first hint that he'd made a mistake getting involved with the family, but certainly not his last.

No, those kept coming, and the very next was when the battles they'd been participating in escalated quite a bit further than he'd realized was possible. They'd just been dueling Belarus and Ukraine, so a fairly normal day, and they were holding their own just fine. But their tactics seemed a bit different. They didn't seem to be trying to inflict damage, but rather to isolate Iceland from the others.

Scarves filled the air, and it was hard to see what was going on until suddenly a flash of light pierced the air, and both the enemies and Iceland were gone. After the confusion had worn off, everyone completely panicked. It was the first time he could remember Lukas crying.

And it wasn't a full day before another attack came, and this time, they practically ripped Monaco apart. They must have known, whoever had sent her, since her cards and luck powers wouldn't be able to conquer four Nations alone, but she bargained with them to prevent them from unleashing all their vengeance upon her. For sparing her, she'd give them the location of the base Iceland was being held in.

Only Sweden suspected this was a trap, given that normally whenever someone came close to death they'd be teleported back to wherever it was the enemy Nations hung out and it was doubtful Monaco was in much danger to begin with. But no one cared if it was a trap, and Sealand wasn't about to try to stop them. He felt like he'd failed Ladonia in letting one of the Nordics be captured, and he wanted to right that wrong as well.

It was almost exactly like the trip that the Axis and America would later take to save England and Greece. They drove to the place Monaco had described, practically drove off the road to get there, and searched the woods until they found the panel and the lever.

And, they found a place that was nothing but darkness, and with nothing but flashlights to light their way, they searched every last inch of that place until they stumbled upon a hallway filled with an eerie green glow. A room before them that looked like it was some sort of control room with some odd green tank and countless wires along the back wall. It seemed unfinished, but gave a terrifying impression.

Emil was hooked up to another machine that seemed to be checking his vitals and scanning him in some way, with strange symbols flicking across a screen. He looked up at them after a moment, his eyes stained a bright red and dark circles underneath them. His eyes were welling up with tears as a strangely corpse-like hand reached for them.

Lukas ran straight to him, reaching for his precious little brother, but the wires on the floor snaked around his ankle and he stumbled into a wall instead. Something along that process must have triggered alarms, because only a second later, bright lights blared through the room and one by one, every Nation they'd fought and then some had surrounded them.

They were completely surrounded, and as Norway struggled to cut Iceland free of the machine, they all came closer. It was undoubtedly a trap, with Iceland as the bait, and Sealand was positive that they were going to die there. Weapons and magic filled the room, all aimed at the six of them, and the only exit was blocked by Turkey and someone he couldn't place, perhaps Cyprus.

And it was here that Mathias's penchant for overdoing it came in handy, because waves of power began emanating from him. A storm of ice and water filled the room, practically flooding it, and leading sparks to fly wildly from the odd control panels.

The enemies began to panic, focusing on Denmark alone, and leaving an opening for the rest to slip away. Away from the small room, they attempted to strike the distracted enemies so Mathias could leave as well, but from a brief glimpse of him over the chaos, he seemed to be mouthing at them to leave, run away, don't worry about him.

As much as Sealand would later tell himself that staying wouldn't have made a difference, he wished they wouldn't have listened. Maybe then, they wouldn't halfway down the hall before hearing a terrible scream coming from Mathias, followed by the water still rushing from the room beginning to vanish.

Somehow, they did manage to get away, but it was hardly unscathed. It was quiet and hollow, and no one wanted to acknowledge that Mathias had been killed. They tried to act as if he was just knocked unconscious, and that he'd be able to escape. It took Iceland's first words in days to make them accept that was not the case: "I knew that would happen. I knew he'd get himself killed trying to save us."

"Then why didn't you stop him?", Lukas countered.

It took Emil a moment to respond, leaving silent sobs to fill the air a moment longer. "Because I would have died there had he not."

No one said another word after that. There was just nothing to say, really. And when they arrived back home, no one knew what to do. No one wanted to touch Mathias's things, or tell anyone what had happened, but they knew that someone would notice the lack of his presence in the world.

So, they tried to just move forward. They held a small funeral service, told the authorities he'd fallen off a cliff while on a family trip, and his body had been too mangled to recover. His grave was empty, and things were mostly left at that.

It was just so quiet without him. No one was sure what to do, and things began to fall apart even quicker without the wild energy of Sealand's big brother.

Emil was just as quiet as he'd been before upon coming home, and not too long after the funeral, he vanished. A note was left on his dresser, explaining that the machine in the room they'd rescued him in was a device that their enemies wished to use on him, and that if they managed to capture him, it would be a fate worse than death. He apologized in it extensively for being so cowardly as to let Mathias die, and begged them to not allow their bodies to fall into the hands of their foes. He further promised that he would be safe, and requested that they not look for him and tell any that asked he had died.

It was cryptic, and signed not with a signature, but with a symbol. That mark, 目, it was the same that would become his calling sign once he'd fully embraced the life of a rogue, and one that should have said enough. He'd ran not simply because he feared the machine, but because he feared what he saw.

Lukas was the next to completely fall apart. In only a few short weeks, his clever, kind, magic-loving big brother had become a hollow shell, saying and eating little while hardly putting up a fight against the enemies that continued to come for them. All his drive and passion had vanished with Emil.

It wasn't surprising that he vanished too. Tino panicked upon realizing that he'd left, as there hadn't even been a note this time, but Berwald seemed to have figured out what had occurred long before confirmation was given. Sealand suspected it too, but didn't want to admit he'd failed a third time at protecting Ladonia's kin and his own family, and refused to accept it until proof stood before his own eyes.

That proof came a few weeks later in the form of Norway fighting at Romania's side, fighting against them. No matter how much they called out to him and begged him to stop, Lukas refused to meet their gaze. After Romania vanished in a flash of light, it was a standstill with not a single attack connecting.

It lasted for what felt like ages, until Norway finally stood down. "I- I'm sorry I had to leave," he stated, not sounding particularly sorry. "But, there's no other way. I need to make sure Mathias didn't die in vain, and this is the only way I can find Emil and make sure he's safe."

Unspoken words filled a gap of silence, only broken by Tino's shouts. "Oh, the best way to honor his memory is to help his murderers? Is that it?"

"And Emil said your machine would kill him!", Sealand added.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't understand, but you have to trust me." Lukas said no more than that, and a bright light signaled his departure.

Again, they told themselves there had to be something more, that he had to be planning some coup or working to take them down from the inside or something. But, as time went on and attacks got more and more frequent, they realized exactly what had happened: Lukas had given up hope.

That seemed to be the strategy of their enemy. They were meant to crumble, to be left with nowhere else to go but to them. And that was, in a way, exactly what happened.

Russia and his sisters attacked the three of them all at once, and easily began to overwhelm them. Sweden sustained terrible wounds from Belarus's knives and Ukraine's pitchforks, enough that Sealand feared the man he'd come to see as his father might not make it.

He wasn't allowed the kindness of worrying about that, though. Russia went for him next, apologizing that he had to harm a child, and that Blocking Aura surged through his body once more. He was sure that, as terrible pain bore into his body, it would be his end, but Tino cried out for it to stop.

"Please!", his Mama begged. "Don't kill them! Take me, please. I'll do whatever you want, just stop!"

That seemed to be enough, as over the spinning of his head, the next thing Sealand knew, their enemies had left, as had Tino. It seemed he'd joined the enemy, just as Lukas had before him.

Russia's powers also left Sealand's body messed up and he found he had, amongst the confusion, assumed fairy form and was unable to turn back. Things were fairly quiet after that, as if Tino's sacrifice had been enough, but Sealand didn't want to stay. Berwald, as much as he tried not to show it, had been completely devastated by the loss of the man he'd married, and seemed lost within his own thoughts more often than not.

So, Sealand left the Nordics' home. It was too empty, and he felt like that was his fault. He'd called out to them with an enchanting tune, requesting their attention and warmth, and they'd ended smashed against the rocks. And it would always end like that. To all he'd call, only a tragic fate and an early grave awaited them.

* * *

"And that's how I know the Nordics," Sealand finished, sounding significantly more downbeat this time.

Alfred was still curious, though. "But what about Seborga and Wy?", he pressed. "Did you find them?"

"Well, I tried to go back to my home after all that and I found a note from Wy there," Sealand explained. "She told me that Seborga had gotten killed and made her promise to look after his brothers for him. And, she said once she made sure they were okay, she'd try to find Australia. Something must have happened, though, because I still haven't seen her since, and Australia joined up with the bad guys."

The poor kid said all that so emotionlessly, like it had lost all meaning to him. "Oh, well, let's ask Feli about it when we find him!", he suggested. "Maybe he saw her, since she was supposed to be looking out for him, right?"

Sealand gave a slight smile. "Maybe so. She also said in that note she'd leave Prussia's bird with Molossia, and he told me he never saw her, so I guess she could still be out there."

"You can't give up hope!", Erika exclaimed. "And even if she died, I'm sure you'll still meet again."

Sweden- er, Berwald nodded. "And it seems in the meantime, you've found other friends."

A strained chuckle came from Sealand. "Well, I guess you could say that. Um, it's getting late though, and we haven't really eaten yet, so, um,"

"I don't have much here, but we can order pizza," offered Berwald.

That sounded nice. A good meal to take the edge off a painful day. Alfred checked his phone quickly to see if Matthew had called, and found a few texts complaining about that Feliks guy and how he never shut up, along with a rather interesting note.

"Is it weird that I really like Gil? He's actually really nice, you know."

Alfred chuckled a bit as he read that. Somehow, he figured he should have seen that coming.

* * *

 _ **AN- And thus we conclude the Nordic's tale of suffering. And some PruCan teasing at the end, because we needed something that wasn't dark and painful. Well, I say that now... I'm betting this isn't the last we've heard of Norway and Finland, though. They seemed pretty close to England and France's operations, after all.**_

 _ **Also, on an unrelated note, the new Fire Emblem is great. And this connects, because there is a character who shouts about being a hero, dresses in red, white and blue, and is rather obnoxious, His name is… Arthur. And I burst into laughter upon realzing that. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Jotlik**_


	39. Darkened Mind

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty- Darkened Mind_

The warm feeling of a dream barely remembered blocked out all sense of the outside world. Vaguely, in the gap between light and darkness, he could still hear his beloved calling out his name. It was weirdly familiar, yet sweet and gentle in a way few of his other dreams were. Echoes and dancing impressions of pastel blooms remained in his mind, calling him back to something he was neither awake or asleep enough to comprehend.

But, that dream soon began to fall away. The warmth of sun was replaced with an inexplicable chill, an uncomfortable ache, and a dull pain that would sometimes cry to be noticed. And the twilight continued, with the kindness of the blackness reaching for him as the harsh white tried to pull his mind away. Trapped forever in the gap between dreams and reality, only aware enough to know which he would rather stay in a moment longer.

It wasn't possible, though. The longer the haze remained, the more his mind began to wake up. Soon, Ludwig began to wonder where it was he laid, and why that awful pain was sparking through his flesh.

Opening his eyes, he saw a white ceiling and a room filled with wooden furniture. And confusion began to awaken his mind the rest of the way. It seemed to be… the inside of a store? No, that made no sense. It must have been someone's home, judging by the blanket draped over him.

What had happened before he'd fallen asleep? It was difficult to remember, but a green glow and dull metal soon floated to the surface of his scrambled mind. And… Feliciano, he'd been with him.

Struggling to shake off the pitiful calling of the heaviness of his eyelids, Ludwig sat up. Immediately, he noted odd patterns on his arm. A vein-like fractal was crossed with thin, red lines, and both seemed to be the source of his pain. What on Earth had happened to make such an odd injury? He vaguely remembered something, an enemy standing in their way, but he couldn't quite connect how it had gotten to the point where he was so badly battered.

That train of thought was derailed by the sound of voices. A loud, distant cheer, and a polite chuckle drifted down a hallway he could barely see. Things started to reconnect in his mind. So they'd made it out of the mission alright, then? It sounded as if whoever was chatting was in fairly high spirits, so everything had to be alright. Had they managed to find Arthur and Heracles and whoever else it was they were searching for? That might explain how odd those voices sounded to him. And what else had happened?

Feliciano was probably really worried about him, though. Kiku too, especially since they had split up before he'd gotten attacked. It was only right to go assure everyone he was alright. Biting the inside of his cheek to stave off the dizzying drowsiness, Ludwig stood up and staggered down the unfamiliar hall towards the voices he heard.

An ajar door seemed to be the source, and as he peered into it, he noted the blue and white decor made it look like a child's room with some sort of naval theme. Did it belong to the young blond boy in a sailor suit who sat cross-legged on the bed? It would have made sense, but the child only confused him further, as did the pained look on Erika's face as she spotted him. Alfred, at very least, smiled upon noticing him, but it seemed eerily forced in a way that made him feel less certain of the situation.

"Oh, you-you're alright," Erika stuttered out, before looking away almost nervously. "Thank goodness. We were starting to worry."

"Y-yeah! Glad you're back, man!", Alfred added in turn, but his enthusiasm seemed as fake as his grin. "Are those weird lightning blasts scarring? 'Cause that would look like, wicked cool!"

Glancing at his arm, he started to piece a bit more together. That enemy had attacked with lightning, so he must have gotten caught off guard, hence the fractals. But then, what had left the long, thin cuts? "What… exactly happened?", he questioned, and everyone's faces only fell further, making his stomach feel oddly hollow.

"Well, um, I think Norway probably used some magnetism spell to draw your wire attacks back to you and then Finland shocked you?", the boy sitting on the bed guessed.

That made sense enough, but that was hardly the only thing he wanted to know. "Where's Feliciano?", he questioned. "I should tell him I'm alright. And what happened after I-"

Suddenly, no one would look him in the eye. "Uh, well, um…" Alfred seemed to attempt to force something out, but simply coughed oddly instead.

"I- ah, it's…", Erika seemed to lose her words as well.

After a moment, the mysterious child on the bed grabbed a throw pillow with an anchor design and clutched it tightly as he took a deep breath. "How far do you remember?", he asked.

His fears that something had happened were all but confirmed, but Ludwig fought to remain calm. If Feliciano had been hurt, that would be terrible, but it would make sense. They knew there were risks going in, but he would surely heal. So, he searched through his memories to produce the most recent. "We were in this hallway- ah, no, we had followed Alfred down a path, but he vanished. There was this green glow coming from the end, and Feliciano said he wanted to turn back, but Finland stopped us and said he couldn't allow the HRE to leave. After that… well, I suppose we must have fought him for a minute before I fell."

The child buried his face in the pillow. "So… you don't remember what happened after that?", he questioned, slightly muffled.

He was almost certain of it now, Feliciano had gotten injured after himself. He could almost imagine him trying to fight bravely to avenge him, but only managing to collapse by his side. If his own body felt like it had been ripped apart and crudely sewn back together, he didn't want to think about how Feli must have ended up. "Where is he?", Ludwig questioned, trying to remain calm.

"We- we don't know…", Erika admitted after a strained moment of silence.

"I'm so sorry!", the odd boy exclaimed before he was even given a moment to process the words. "We were cornered and we only had a little time to escape and we couldn't find them and-"

An odd numbness settled over Ludwig. No, that couldn't be right. It couldn't. They weren't saying Feliciano wasn't there, were they? And certainly not saying he had been abandoned in that base. That strange child didn't know what he was talking about. That strange child… "Excuse me, but who are you, exactly?"

Giving a few confused blinks, the child drew his head up from his pillow and stood up on the bed, his head nearly touching the ceiling fan. "Um, I'm, well…"

White light shone around the child's body, and when it faded, it revealed the green rabbit that had been accompanying them before. He transformed back quickly, his point being made.

Ludwig scanned the child, taking in the tired eyes that looked so odd on someone so youthful and the way he bit his lip like he was expecting to be reprimanded. He knew he had a bad feeling about that rabbit, how it had forced his friends to trust it only to lead Feliciano to… no, remember, he told himself, that isn't true, and Feli is fine.

"Tell me exactly what happened," he requested, the children flinching at the volume of his words.

"Uh, well, basically we fell into a trap," Alfred began quickly. "Artie kind of was working with Francis and the other bad guys the entire time? So, like, we were pretty much screwed from the beginning."

After that, it seemed everyone was tripping over each other.

"My big brother thought I was dead and-"

"-look, I know we screwed up, okay? I screwed up, and I'm sorry about your-"

"-agh, this is just like with Mathias! I should have just tried to fight it off or-"

It was a terrible cacophony of things that made no sense. "Be quiet and answer my questions! Keep answers brief! Understood?"

Why was it that everyone seemed nervous when he raised his voice a bit? "Uh, yes sir!", Sealand exclaimed.

"Now, where are we right now?"

"A-at my old home!", Sealand answered. "I teleported everyone here when we got cornered and-"

"How long have we been here?"

"Uh, a few days, I think?", Alfred seemed to ask no one, who gave him no confirmation as to the validity of his statement.

"Where is Feliciano Vargas?"

"Most likely with the enemy," Erika answered softly.

Ludwig sighed. They kept saying that. That just couldn't be true, though. The world was still turning on as if nothing had happened. It would feel much darker if Feliciano wasn't in it, right?

"Is he alright?", he questioned.

Hesitation dragged on for a few seconds too long, but Sealand answered after a moment. "I- I don't know. I doubt they'd just k-kill him, but I don't think they'd leave him be either."

A memory he tried to brush aside replayed in his mind. Feli had said he felt uneasy in that hall in particular, but why? Ah, right… "The green glow in that place, Feliciano mentioned there was a room he saw in his dreams with a glow like that! What was he seeing?"

"Probably that control room you were passed out in front of!", Sealand answered. "Iceland said they wanted to use it on him, and it would end up killing him or worse."

"Iceland, he's the future seer, right? But why would it harm him?"

"I don't know! He said it was something about his visions and-"

Very suddenly, the nervous expression on the child's face morphed into shock and settled somewhere around horror. "Oh," he muttered quietly.

"What?"

"Italy… has visions too, doesn't he?", Sealand questioned, looking at seemingly nothing with that same stricken horror. "He saw that… how did I not…" He buried his head in the pillow again and cried "How was I that stupid? This is bad, this is really bad!"

Funny, it almost sounded as if they were saying that Feliciano, his beautiful, kind, incredible Feliciano, was going to have a machine used on him that would kill him. This certain error was so funny that it made his heart feel like a thousand stones were pelting it and dragging it down and his entire body shake.

His mind wasn't in the right place to even begin to think about something like that. He needed someone more sane than himself, or at very least more awake. "Kiku, where is Kiku?", he questioned, and somehow, he was met with even more nervous aversions of eye contact.

"We… didn't get him out either," Alfred admitted.

Numbness ran through his veins and down his back like ice and an odd noise that sounded almost like a chuckle escaped his mouth. "You said you teleported us out, didn't you?", Ludwig pressed the boy hugging the throw pillow. He nodded nervously.

"Teleport me back in, then."

Sealand looked up, his eyes red and wide with shock. "Wh-what? You can't be serious! You don't understand, there were way too many enemies there for us to face!"

"Oh, I understand perfectly. And I don't care." Things were far too mad and he was still too disoriented to worry about statistics or logic. All Ludwig could think about was that the only two friends he had ever had were in danger. "Take. Me. Back. Now."

Erika looked straight at him for once and shook her head. "No, you don't understand!", she exclaimed. "They'd rip you apart, I'm sure! You don't want to end up captured too, do you?"

If he was captured, all that would mean was he'd be with them once more. "Don't care."

"You're being kind of stupid, you know?", Alfred almost taunted. "I mean, I totally get it, but-"

"I know I'm being stupid," Ludwig admitted from the small portion of his brain that could think over the rush of adrenaline. "This is irrational, and I don't care."

The smile Alfred gave was far more sincere. "Well, as it so happens, I am also stupid, and I won't let you go alone!"

"You can't stop me."

A weird sort of huff came from the grinning idiot. "I'm not trying to. I'm going with you."

"N-no! Don't do that!", Erika protested, but Alfred shrugged it off.

"Well, it's sorta my fault you got into this in the first place, and I wanna protect Feli and Keeks too, plus I need to have a word with my brother, so it all works out!"

For once, Ludwig actually was grateful for Alfred's stupidity. What was this world coming to? "So, take us," he ordered Sealand.

"Uh, one sec, okay?" The child got up and ran out of the room. Watching as he ran down to a more distant door, he saw Sealand knock a few times before a stern looking older man opened it. "Um, Papa, they want me to take them back to save their friends," the child explained. "So, um, I- I'll probably be back in a minute. But I need to stay with them, so it'll be dangerous and-"

He couldn't hear the man's response, but he heard Sealand's. "No, you can't, it'd be danger-"

The man walked straight past him, cutting him off. "I don't think we've met," the man stated as he approached Ludwig. "I'm Berwald, this boy's father. I'll be coming as well."

"Please don't," Sealand said, quieter this time.

"You said it was Tino who attacked him, and I would like to perhaps see him again," Berwald muttered, almost unintelligibly.

Sealand just gave a defeated groan. "Please just don't die," he pleaded softly. "Erika, we'll be-"

With a bright flash, Erika transformed into Liechtenstein's clothes and smiled. "If everyone else is coming, I'd still like to see if I can find any hints as to where my big brother ended up," she stated.

"Fine. Um, everyone, hold on…"

Almost violently the child grabbed one of his wrists, and Alfred grabbed his other. Light enveloped them all, and it felt like he was coming apart until that light faded, leaving a harsh, fluorescent glow in its place.

"Whoa, this place has lights?", Alfred questioned, looking around the almost familiar hallway. "Sweet! Did we just miss the lightswitch or something last time around?"

The dreariness of the base was lessened by the bright lights, but that somehow just made it worse. Never mind that, Ludwig just needed to get back to where he'd gotten separated from Feliciano. Strings of energy wrapped around his body and spit Germany's form out as he forged ahead.

And he practically ran forward, footsteps trailing him, and he took the second right available. He was told his memory of the path was correct by the sudden appearance of a green tint to the metallic walls.

"Why is no one here?", Sealand questioned in an unfitting whisper.

His misgivings increased, but they needed to be ignored. Feli first, logic later. And he was getting closer and closer to that green glow, to the point where he was sure he could see the awful machine, and-

Suddenly, a figure flickered into view in front of him, and all the anxious fear in his body peaked before melting away. Feliciano was standing before him, smiling and looking fairly unharmed.

An unfamiliar sensation at the corners of his mouth, a smile, and he reached out towards Feliciano. "Oh, thank god! I was afraid you'd been hurt."

Feliciano darted back, avoiding his touch, but continued to grin. An unfamiliar chuckle seemed to be coming from him, and he produced his weapon, the white flag oddly tattered and almost appearing to be stained with blood.

"What are you-?"

Another, higher laugh, and a burst of light hit Ludwig's chest.

* * *

 _ **AN- Oh, suffering! My favorite! But, surely things are not what they appear to be, right? Feli would never do that, right? Well, that's what cliffhangers are for, aru~ Still, it's like, nice to have Germany back in the story, at least. Kesesese, I might even say I missed the guy!**_

 _ **Why am I speaking so weird? Well, because this story, as of today, has hit 200 reviews, and I couldn't be happier about it! That's the most I've ever gotten on a story before, and I am so grateful to every single person who reads this. Plus, this is currently my most followed story, and as of this chapter, we've reached 100K words total! I'm so proud of how far this story has come in such a short time. If you lovely readers can think of a good way for me to celebrate this milestone, please tell me. I don't really know what you'd be interested in seeing, but please, by all means, tell me! Like I could do another bonus chapter and let you guys choose the subject? Or something, but regardless, thank you all so much for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, I've changed the names of the "Bonus Chapters" to "Parallel Chapters", to reflect what they are better. I renamed Romano's thing and future ones like it "Bonus Chapters", since that's more what they are.**_


	40. Hollow Blackness

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty One- Hollow Blackness_

Pain spread like fire from where Feliciano's attack had hit, yet Ludwig could do nothing but stare at the incomprehensible scene before his eyes. What was this? Feli was fine only a moment ago, but now his form seemed to flicker, and he couldn't help but notice a gash under his eye that had certainly not been there before.

Slowly, Feliciano began to walk forward, his tattered weapon dragging along the side of the wall. Without thinking, Ludwig started to back up. "Stop! Why are you-?

He was answered not with words, but with another blow, this time hitting his shoulder. He couldn't really see where it came from, but it hurt every bit as much as the first one.

Ludwig kept calling out, trying to get through to the one charging forward with a lifeless smile, but wasn't even so much as acknowledged. It was near impossible to take his eyes off of Feliciano, but it seemed each time he blinked, there was another injury on his figure.

A bruise forming on his cheek.

A bloody gash on his shoulder.

A series of bloodstains and cuts on his leg that looked more like they'd come from a shredder than scraping his knee on the sidewalk.

And as Ludwig kept being forced back, his breath caught in his throat as his eyes met his dearest friend's. Half of Feliciano's face seemed to have been cut to ribbons, with scars and dried blood covering the whole right side. The sight seemed almost familiar, as if from a half remembered dream, but just seeing it made his heart stop to wonder how he got so injured.

His voice came out more breath and tremble than word. "What did they do to you?"

Feliciano still refused to answer. He just maintained the same expression he had since before those injuries popped up. His eyes were closed, but his smile was as wide as ever.

As Ludwig felt his own breathing becoming ragged and uneasy, those injuries on Feliciano's body all vanished, leaving only a few cuts and bits of dried blood behind. Somehow, that scared him even more. His throat began to burn as another ball of light energy brushed past his arm, as did his eyes.

"Feliciano, please, just answer me!", Ludwig begged, voice cracking. "What did they do? How can I help you?"

There was no answer, but there was a strange sigh behind him. The sigh was followed by someone rushing past him and towards Feli, who jumped back a bit. It was the man who introduced himself as Sealand's father- Berwald, wasn't it?- now bearing a navy blue uniform and carrying a staff of some sort.

"No, don't!", a high voice called out from behind them, but Berwald was already charging Feliciano, and swung the staff at him just to barely miss.

But, as he readied his flagpole to counter, what appeared to be a wireframe shone briefly behind him, only to be filled in seconds later with a wood panel Feliciano smashed into. His form flickered briefly again, and as Berwald struck him with the staff, seemed to dissolve into distorted shards of his image like a hologram being waved away.

While Ludwig's heart pounded wildly, the fractured image of Feliciano reformed as the construct that Berwald must have formed faded.

"What did you-?", someone asked behind them, and Berwald turned his head and gave a rather flat answer.

"Seemed the best way to get rid of an illusion was to break it up and separate it from the source."

An illusion, that seemed to fit. It seemed so obvious now that Ludwig was kicking himself mentally for not noting how the image flickered and changed. Was the blood and the fact that he was being attacked by the last person he would ever expect to raise a hand against him really enough to blind him so completely?

Thankfully, it didn't seem so obvious to the others, as he caught Alfred asking "How did you know that wasn't really Feli?"

Berwald gestured towards Ludwig. "He said he saw this 'Feliciano' person, but I saw someone different. Someone I knew to be dead."

"But... why would it be different?"

"I guess they couldn't make me see something I'd never seen before, so they chose the closest thing," he offered.

An eerie voice echoed through the area as footsteps rang out and the illusionary Feliciano changed into a formless shape and rushed past the five of them like a cold wind. It changed shapes once more once it had gotten past them, into the enemy Ludwig remembered fighting with Gilbert the day before he left. Switzerland, perhaps? That was likely, given how Erika had dropped her rifle out of her shaking hand.

"So you can see through my illusions?", the voice questioned, sounding oddly familiar.

The hallway around them seemed to fall away, the green glow vanishing. In its place was a large and rather plain room, faintly illuminated by light fixtures attached to the walls. A singular door was in the place, guarded by the illusionary Switzerland who maintained an almost eerily still smirk.

The voice kept taunting, and Ludwig tried very hard to remember where he had heard it before. "Well then, can you see through my attacks?"

Switzerland raised his hand, and guns began to circle their group, letting out bullets that looked almost identical to Feliciano's shots.

As he jumped out of the way of all the bullets, Ludwig's mind began to race. If the Feliciano they'd faced was a fake, where was the real one? Those injuries, were those real or just to freak him out? And that voice, he knew he knew it, but from where?

He was only snapped out of his panicked thoughts by the realization that Erika was standing still in the circle of shots, staring at the illusionary form of her older brother.

"He isn't real!", Ludwig shouted out, quickly forming his own weapon into a lance which he used to shove the girl out of the line of fire.

"But I…", she kept staring straight ahead, like the form of her brother was the only hint of light in a dark room. "Basch, please stop!"

The rapid sound of gunfire broke the air, coming from almost next to his ear as Alfred unleashed his own wave of bullets into the illusion casting the guns around them. His form flickered for a moment, only to reform with a bloodied hole in his chest.

Sobs could be heard coming from the young girl, who even with the reddish shade of her dress, Ludwig could tell had begun to bleed from a wound on her right shoulder. "Stop, please!", she begged.

And, right as a cannonball that Sealand seemed to have sent hit it, the illusion changed forms once more. This time, it settled on Arthur's form, one which Ludwig had no issue with going after.

That familiar voice taunted them again. "This form fits better, don't you think?"

"Artie…", Alfred muttered, his voice weakly wavering. "Why are you doing this?"

"It isn't real," Berwald reminded them, but Alfred shook his head in response.

"No, he's the one with illusions, it has to be him," he affirmed. "Please, I know this isn't something you want to do! Arthur, I can help, so just tell me why you keep doing this!"

Without giving a response, the illusionary Arthur flicked that stupid wand he used as a weapon and some sort of spell circle spread on the ground. From it rose violet flames that started to snake their way towards their targets.

In his hand, Ludwig felt his weapon change forms, and he cracked the whip it became over the flames. The air produced by it seemed to be enough to make them flicker out of existence for a brief moment, which he used to jump over them and towards the back of the room, where that weird voice had been coming from.

He then turned back around and cast the metal threads into the air, across the front of the room. Arthur's illusionary form was caught in it and flickered for a moment before reappearing a few feet in front of it.

Alfred's eyes shot wide open in shock, and then he produced a flame in his hand. "Alright, if you're not a fake, move out of the way!", he cried, and as the fireball rushed towards the figure, it simply stood there with a serene smile he couldn't quite picture going on Arthur's face and vanished in the explosion.

Once the fire and smoke cleared, the illusion had changed forms once more, to the man who had attacked Ludwig in the hallway before. Finland's image walked towards them slightly, lifeless eyes focused on Berwald, who in turn regarded him with a sorrowful smile.

The illusion's eyes darted up at the ceiling, and that voice softly said something that sounded like "där", this time sounding far closer to them. Berwald nodded, and as Finland's image stepped back, more wireframes formed in the air. They took the form of needles that changed to splinters of wood and flew across the room, fracturing the illusionary Finland.

And finally, the illusion vanished altogether, replacing itself with a familiar man who stood next to the door. Yao, that's whose voice he'd heard, and Kiku's brother stood before them now, looking oddly pale and incredibly tired.

In addition to the Nation Scout garb he'd worn in their last encounter, the man had an odd hodgepodge of accessories on. A sunflower and a rose had been shoved into his ponytail, a strip of pale pink cloth was tied around one wrist and a charm bracelet was on the other hand, which clutched what seemed to be a keychain with a unicorn on it. But, the only one Ludwig really noticed was the one he held in his other hand as he took a few steps closer to them.

It was Italy's silver cross necklace, and Yao held it out to Ludwig, as if asking him to take it. He quickly did so, and felt something boiling inside of him, but was unable to procure the words to match.

"Forgive me for being so cruel," Kiku's brother began. "They ordered me to wait here for your return, and to attack you with images of your loved ones to keep you from wanting to pursue us further. I couldn't go through with that, though. Not after you all started breaking down when I tried to add battle damage to their forms."

Finally, Ludwig found something to say as his fingers curled around the necklace. "Why do you have this?"

"The necklace?", Yao questioned. "Ah, you see, it's an extension of my powers, aru. If I take an object belonging to a Nation whose powers I want to borrow, I can use as many of those at once as my body can take. I had to do that to simulate everyone's attacks. I mean, I could just borrow a pen for it to work, but it lasts longer if I go with something of value."

"As many as his body could take" seemed to be approaching its limits, given how pained the man's breathing sounded. But, that didn't answer his question. "How did you get this from him?", Ludwig pressed.

"Oh? Well, after they finished hooking Italy up to that machine, they said his Catalyst would allow him too much control over it, so they gave it to me to use here."

Those words cast an odd silence over the room. "E-excuse me?"

"You wouldn't know about the machine though, would you?", Yao seemed to say more to himself than any of them.

"No, we know about it," Sealand corrected. The child then produced his cannon once more. "Now step aside and let us go to it!"

Yao shook his head. "It isn't here," he stated. "It's in another base."

So his "princess" was in another "castle", then. Ludwig almost chuckled at how the words came into his head. He really had been hanging around Kiku too much. Kiku, who was almost assuredly captured as well...

Ludwig's hands acted before his mind, and he had a blade pressed to Yao's throat in an instant. "Where is he? Where is this base?"

"I'd be killed if I told-" Yao stopped himself midway through the sentence. "No, Kiku would be killed if I told you."

"No one has to know," Erika offered, her gun pointed to Yao's head as well. "If anyone asks, we'll say Flying Mint Bunny knew, and no one will question that."

"But they're watching," Yao countered, his eyes floating towards a point on the ceiling. Ludwig followed his gaze to find a security camera mounted above them. One with several cracks in it.

Berwald countered this with "Not after those splinters you told me to shoot up there they aren't."

And Yao gave a small chuckle. "I'd hoped you'd understood that, aru. I don't really know Swedish well, but hopefully, neither does the person who watches that back."

"Why'd you tell him to shoot the security camera out?", Alfred asked.

"Because I don't trust them any more than you do, aru," Yao answered. "And I especially don't trust them with Kiku's life. They've started sending him out on missions to find the remaining Nations, and I don't want him to end up with blood on his hands or his body."

Once again, Ludwig's breath caught a bit in his throat. "They- they've recruited Kiku?"

"Didn't give him a choice, but I'm ashamed to say I helped with that," Yao muttered. "I thought they'd have killed him otherwise, but that wasn't the case. So, I thought perhaps I could help you rescue him to repay for my mistake."

Erika frowned. "How do we know we can trust you? This could just be another trick."

"I can't give you proof," Yao admitted. "But I can give you this."

Yao handed her a piece of paper with coordinates written on it. "That's where Feliciano is. Not sure about Kiku, he keeps getting transferred, but I'm sure you'll find something there that can lead you to him, and whoever else you're looking to help as well. It's one of the bigger bases, so you'll need to be on guard, but I'll do my best to help you from the inside. Extrapolate from that the location, and good luck. I- I need to go rest. Even after borrowing Lithuania's stamina, I've neared my limits with this battle."

Simply opening the door, Yao staggered out and produced a weak blast of cold air around his body, after which he nearly fell over before vanishing in a flash of light.

Sealand snatched the paper from Erika's hand before frowning. "I… don't know where that is," he muttered. "Don't think I could teleport us there just from the coordinates. We'll probably have to drive again."

"We need to get there quickly!", Ludwig shouted back. "You heard him, Feliciano's in the machine, and that'll kill him, right?"

"Probably not immediately, but we'll need to be quick," Berwald stated. "Emil held out for a few days, but I don't believe that was the full machine, so I don't know how much time we have."

"So we act like we don't have any time at all!", Alfred shouted, rushing towards the open door of the room. "Come on, my car's probably still up there by the side of the road, and we'll look up the coordinates and get directions on my phone."

Ludwig gladly followed his haste, but the pounding of adrenaline that had driven him forwards earlier had vanished. Somehow, that illusionary version of Feli had driven all the emotion out of him. Yes, he knew the person he loved most was attached to a horrible machine and being drained of his life, and his other best friend was being forced to fight on the other side of the conflict, but he didn't feel it quite as strongly as he had in the throws of half-asleep denial.

But, as he clumsily tried to open the clasp of Feliciano's necklace and place it around his own neck, he felt something else come back in a wave. A hollow blackness settled over his chest. The warm presence he'd come to regard as another part of his existence was gone, and it was possible it wouldn't return. It'd be silent and cold without the one who had always given him light at his side, and right after he'd finally realized that light was love.

An odd sound came out his mouth, one he hadn't heard since his grandfather's passing. Something warm and wet rolled down his cheeks as the emptiness grew around him.

* * *

 _ **AN- It's not too OOC for Germany to cry, right? I mean, after everything, I think it's logical that even the coldest person might break down inside. But hey, China! He's sort of on their side, and he did the cool things. You happy now, Amethyst/others? TBH, in the first draft of this chapter, he was supposed to join them, but I decided against that. I mean, the consequences for that would be huge for poor Japan, and besides, the party will be growing a bit in the near future regardless, so it seemed a bit much. So, next chapter, I think it's about time to check in on Team PruCan again, and it very well might end up being a two-parter with the parts right in a row. I know we've only been back with this team for two chapters, but I think it'll make sense once you see it. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, the Swedish word was literally just "there".**_


	41. P4- Rippling Daze

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter Four- Rippling Daze_

Over the past little while, several questions had been floating around in Matthew's head. For instance:

 _-Why has Alfred been ignoring me?_

 _-Seriously, he's read my texts, what's up with him?_

 _-Is everything going alright with the mission?_

 _-What about Francis? Did they figure that out?_

 _-Also, why is Gilbert being so nice to me? Is it just because of Francis? Because I'm getting the impression he's not normally like this._

And many more things to that effect. However, most of the questions were closer to:

 _-Why couldn't Feliks have just gone back to his own place?_

 _-Really, he lives like, five miles away. Why can't he just leave?_

 _-Or he could have stayed with Elizaveta! They're cousins, right? So why can't she just keep him?_

 _-Does he ever stop talking?_

 _-Does he have an off switch? Oh, please let him have an off switch..._

 _-How does he keep coming up with new things to complain about?_

 _-Why is he complaining? This was his idea!_

 _-And since when was the definition of "prisoner" someone who just sits around and complains and eats our- er, Gilbert's food?"_

Actually, come to think of it, Matthew was fairly certain he had an answer to the question of Gilbert's hospitality. When the alternative was… well, Feliks, he surely looked much better in comparison, and therefore was easier to appreciate.

In fact, the same could be said for Gilbert himself. Compared to their "prisoner"- heck, compared to his brothers, he was practically an angel. Obnoxious? A little. Loud? Yes. Very yes. Vain? Given he referred to himself as "awesome" constantly, he would say extremely. But irritating? Actually, far from it. If anything, Matthew enjoyed his company.

And so, he felt trapped in an awkward limbo between misery and serenity. Yes, he was worried sick about his brothers, but on the other hand, it was so nice not to have to listen to them bickering and exploding for once. Yes, Gilbert was lovely company, but Feliks made Alfred seem nearly calm and quiet in comparison.

But… it had been too long. It was getting hard to bear that tight anxiety in his chest, but he couldn't help but try to ignore it. He was too scared of what would lie beyond acknowledgement. But, on top of everything else, Feliks made it very hard to feign ignorance with his constant questioning. If it wasn't a request for a different brand of shampoo or changing the channel, everything out of his mouth was:

"Like, you said your brother was getting close to where Tori is, right?"

Or "it's been like, almost a day since we heard from them! Shouldn't we have heard something by now?"

And "seriously, why aren't we doing anything? We could be like, saving the world or whatever, so why are we just waiting for other people to do things?"

Matthew ignored this, and thankfully, or perhaps unfortunately, Gilbert seemed more than happy to play along. But, he felt like if he'd known the guy longer, he probably could have picked up some hints that despite going along with refusing to acknowledge it, he knew not everything was right either. The weird way he would glance around at times, combined with his automatic refusal of any calls coming that displayed the words "Angry Tomato" on the screen (and he could only assume that was Lovino, given the picture it brought up was of him flipping the camera off), could have indicated an issue, but for all he knew, it was perfectly normal for the guy to refuse calls and look nervous.

But that bitter taste in the back of Matthew's mouth built up, and in time, he couldn't stand that sick feeling in his stomach that came when his brothers would cross his mind. So he forced himself to do the unthinkable: actually talk to Feliks.

So, with a sigh, he initiated the conversation. "Um, you know, you're probably right. I really am starting to worry."

Astonishment seemed to be the reaction, but Feliks followed it up with an almost pleasant grin and a bold suggestion. "Took you long enough! So, I'm thinking if it keeps up like this, we should just go try to save Toris ourselves, don't you think?"

It would be a lie to say the thought hadn't occurred to him, but it would be just as false to say he'd given it serious consideration. "I...wouldn't go that far," Matthew muttered. "I mean, between all of us, we don't have a lot of power at our disposal, and I'm not sure how helpful armor and swords are going to be in something like that."

Inexplicably, or perhaps logically, Gilbert broke out into a mad grin. "Oh, come on! That would help! Besides, he's sort of right. Well, except for the part about him trying to pass as our prisoner."

"You act like I hadn't thought of that," Feliks replied dryly. "But like, you could act like you forced me to lead you to where they are, right?"

"Would you even know where they are to lead us there?", Matthew countered.

Only empty air came out of Feliks's open mouth for a moment before he frowned. "Well, okay, maybe not exactly that, but something like that. Either way, I don't wanna just sit around any more. If you aren't actually gonna do anything, I'd much rather just go back with that Russia creep."

An implication was given that he was too scared to move. And really, this was true in an unbearable sense, but he didn't want it to be so. However, as he had gotten only a heartbeat away from agreeing, Gilbert added something that made him falter. "Well, if we're going anywhere, we're gonna have to get the directions out of the others."

Was that even possible now? Pessimistic worries continued to weigh. Well, not too long ago, Alfred had actually read a few texts he'd sent, but never responded, so it was probably fine. And even then, Arthur had responded to texts and- wait, he didn't have the number he was using. So there was no choice but to keep trying.

But, in his hesitation, Matthew's attempts to decide how best to approach such an endeavor were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell and Gilbert rising to answer it. A familiar looking man stood outside, one he recognized him as the other of Francis's friends he'd met at that party a few years back: Antonio. He looked oddly annoyed- no, frantic, contrasting starkly with the carelessly grinning man he remembered.

That wasn't the odd part, though. No, that was Lovino, who appeared to only barely be awake and was practically being carried by Antonio.

Gilbert, to his credit, didn't question this first. Rather, he gave a dry chuckle and quipped "Hey, Toni. Aren't you supposed to be at work or something?"

This was met with an accusatory shout. "Stop being all smart, what did you do to him?"

"Huh? What did I do to him?" Gilbert cast an uneasy glance at the barely conscious Lovino his face turned dark. "I- what makes you think I did that? How could I even do that?"

"Well, before he passed out, he said something about- ugh." Antonio shifted his weight and grimaced. "C-could we maybe come in? It's kinda hard to hold him like this."

Stepping aside, Gilbert made a gesture towards the long couch that Feliks was currently seated on. A gesture followed up by a harsh whisper of "move", to which Feliks rolled his eyes and stood up. Lovino was laid down upon it, and after a second, Matthew began to understand just why everyone seemed so freaked out.

For one, that weird sickly shade of his complexion, far more visible in the artificial light of the inside, was not natural. Humans didn't turn that weird sort of greenish color, and though all the normal color and life was drained from his skin, rather than feeling feverish, his forehead was oddly cool. And his eyes, the way he stared at nothing and wouldn't so much as blink if he waved a hand in front of them, it made it seem more like he was in the presence of a corpse than a living being.

"What… happened?", Matthew questioned.

"I'm not sure, really. I mean, he said he was kind of feeling bad, and then five minutes later he could barely stand up," Antonio explained.

Gilbert stood up again and dashed to the kitchen, with Antonio following wordlessly. Matthew took a few steps that way as well and watched as his friend grabbed a dish towel and ran it under faucet water. "So, why did you come to me?", he questioned. "Why not the hospital? Or at least like, his actual house?"

"That's the thing. Before he completely lost it, he said a few... weird things."

As he wrung the towel out and began opening cabinets almost at random, Gilbert cast Matthew an odd glance, like a clear "well, this is definitely a thing we know about and he does not". "What sorts of things?"

Antonio glanced over at Lovino for a second before grabbing the towel out of Gilbert's hand and going over to the the barely conscious figure. "Like, pretty much just delirious ramblings, something about Feliciano and someone named "Seb"? You know who that is?" He paused for a response that didn't come as he folded the towel nicely and placed it on Lovino's forehead. "'Cause I can't think of anything. And maybe something about like, Rome? But he said like, one thing that made sense. 'It was the Potato Bastard's fault, I know it', and that's pretty much the only reason I came here. So, are you sure you didn't give him food poisoning or something?"

A snort of laughter came from Gilbert as he grabbed a small white pill bottle out of the cabinet. "You say that like he'd touch anything I made with a sixteen-foot pole. Uh, you think ibuprofen would help?"

"I don't know about medicine. Something about this just doesn't feel right to me, like it's some sort of curse," Antonio mused. As soon as those words seemed to register in everyone's mind, he laughed them off. "Ah, that's stupid, though. But, you don't think he could have gotten something poisonous in him, do you?"

Gilbert glanced between everyone in the room with a silent panic before shrugging. "Actually, I might have an idea what this is all about. You aren't gonna believe me, but I wouldn't joke about something like this. Also, I legitimately don't think I could make this up if I tried."

Over the incredibly confused reaction that got out of the sole person present who couldn't glean the meaning of that sentence, Feliks snickered. "Yeah, you seriously can't. So, whatever you're expecting, just throw it out the window. And break the window, while you're at it, and throw the broken window in the dungeon."

More confusion, but an odd noise seemed to erase that and send all the uneasiness the practical corpse gave the room into overdrive. Especially since it was followed by a loud cry from Antonio. "Ay! What was that?" He held his shoulder with the opposite hand, but the rip that had suddenly formed was still visible. "It felt like… water."

Matthew looked around frantically. Were they being attacked? Judging from the blade that appeared in Gilbert's hand, he certainly seemed to think so.

And stutters of confusion returned. "What? What is-?

There was a loud cracking noise, like a whip, and Gilbert jumped away from an unseen impact. "Okay, I'm gonna have to be fast here with explaining things. Uh, Feliks, do the thing."

"The thing? Oh, the thing!" A bright flash of light, and Feliks transformed into the green uniform and cape they'd first met in.

More stares from Antonio, and another weird cut in the air that Matthew felt whiz past him, like a weaponized ocean breeze. Between the two of them, he felt like the weakest link, but there was at least something he could do here.

"Um, so, there's a lot of magic stuff going on around here lately," Matthew began, trying to remember his brother's explanation. "And pretty much everyone me or Gil knows is involved in some way, Lovino included. It's really confusing what it is, though. Eh, it's sort of, er, anime?"

"A-anime?"

More bright light formed around Gilbert, this time into a shield that blocked another round of invisible attacks. "Basically, it's Sailor Moon, except instead of being like, planets or whatever, we're countries. Like, Italy, Germany, Canada, Japan; you know, stuff like that."

"Wh-what? That- that's not- that isn't…" Another attack hit Antonio, and he stumbled back. After a second, he shook his head and grabbed a pillow that he held in front of himself to mimic Gilbert's shield. "Well, I guess… So what sort of monster is attacking us?"

Shrugging, Gilbert threw his sword around where the last attack had come from. It only clattered to the floor with a dull clink, and its wielder let out a groan before going to pick it up. "Probably not a monster, but another Country."

"What, are we getting invaded by... Poland or Austria something?", Antonio asked, sounding oddly unenthused. Maybe he'd just been broken mentally by that explanation, and instead of running for Kumajiro's comfort he responded with a loss of interest.

As he shot a flame towards the last attack that thankfully stopped just shy of anything flammable, Feliks let out an annoyed huff. "No! Poland's fighting on your side, idiot!"

Antonio nodded, and turned to Gilbert. "What are you then, Ireland?"

"No idea!", said Gilbert enthusiastically, letting out a small cry as an attack smacked into him.

Odd, it seemed none of their own attacks were connecting, even as the enemy seemed to change locations quickly. Matthew closed his eyes and tried to listen for some odd movement, only to be distracted by Antonio's question as soon as thought he heard something out of place. "So, what's wrong with Lovi? A magic curse?"

"Probably? Or he might have run out of magic, that happens, right?", Matthew suggested, remembering what he'd gotten out of Alfred and everyone before their lapse of silence.

"Nein, that can't be it," Gilbert stated. "He shares his powers with Feli or something, so unless something happened to him…"

Wait, Lovino… He was just laying there, but none of the attacks had gone near him. Matthew rushed over to the unconscious man's side and closed his eyes once more.

But, again, Antonio interrupted his moment of inspiration, this time with footsteps. "Whatever happened to him, even if I'm not magical too, I'll help you find it out," Antonio affirmed.

"This isn't the time for getting all sentimental!", Feliks shouted. "We need to figure out where these- agh!" He stumbled back, a cut on his chest mending instantaneously. "Stupid water things…"

"If it's invisible, we could try like, flour or something!", Antonio suggested, starting to rush back towards Gilbert, but he stopped suddenly. It seemed Lovino had grabbed his hand.

Sounding delirious and not looking away from the ceiling, he muttered something that didn't sound English. "...se mi ama… just take it, idiot..."

Whatever he said before that was probably why Antonio suddenly looked a bit flustered. "Take what?", Antonio asked, but Lovino didn't respond. However, halfway off his hand was a rubber band, and that seemed to be the only object in sight, so he grabbed that and placed it around his own wrist.

Briefly, Matthew considered asking everyone to be quiet while he tried once more to find the source, but that would only tell whoever it was what he was doing. So, instead, he closed his eyes despite the noise, and was sure he heard something coming from a corner, but when he opened his eyes to look, there was nothing.

Wait, no, there was something. The air around there looked oddly… distorted. Like a mirage on the hot pavement; a heat haze. But if he said something, it would be heard, and whoever the haze was hiding would vanish once more.

So, instead, he grabbed the pillow out of Antonio's hands and threw it at the weird patch, which seemed to ripple, showing a flash of white for a brief moment. Whoever it was let out a brief noise of surprise as the air went from looking like a stone had been thrown in a pond to calm and still again.

This caught the other three's attention well enough, and the air rippled a bit more as fire kissed it lightly. A few more shots of water came from it, but oddly, these were aimed at the most obvious target: Lovino.

They didn't connect, though. A frantic cry came from Antonio as he rushed to intercept the attack, but rather than stumbling back, a bright glow enveloped him.

Once it faded, a similar looking man with a tan uniform and red cape was standing in his place, all confusion replaced with focused rage. And it stung a bit to know that someone who had no idea what anything that was happening was or meant had accessed his powers before Matthew had been able to. Not as much when some odd cross between a bright line of energy and a vine pierced the air, coiling around the slight haze and making whoever was behind it cry out.

All that movement seemed to have banished the haze, and the attacker was clearly visible now. That only made things worse, as Matthew's breath caught in his throat as he realized he recognized their assailant. Or, at least, he recognized him as someone who should not have been attacking them.

The white-clothed young man the vines were coiled around looked around the room, flinching as his eyes fell upon Gilbert's shocked expression as it fell through a hurt grimace and settled into a fiery glare. "I am very sorry, but I've done all I needed to," Kiku muttered. "I will leave you alone now."

Before he could even attempt to struggle against the vines, Gilbert's blade was inches away from his throat. "Like hell you will! What are you doing here? Why are you attacking us? Where is my brother and everyone else?"

Kiku simply gulped.

* * *

 ** _AN- Another parallel chapter, and the first one I've done since I changed the name! It takes place at about the same time as the last two chapters, and this is where China was saying Japan was last time. But I'll just end it there, alright? It's gone on long enough. We'll finish this awkward mess next time. Even with all that with Romano and Japan, at least Spain's here and has powers, right? And before Canada, even. Also, that thing Romano said when he gave Spain the catalyst… well, I won't translate it here, but you can go look it up yourself. You'll get why I'm playing weird about it if you do. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	42. P5- Blindfold Code

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter Five- Blindfold Code_

"Answer me!", Gilbert shouted, full of venom and vitriol. Truly, it was a terrifying sight, especially compared with how friendly he'd acted to their assailant in the past.

And still, Kiku found it in him to hesitate. "I- well, Ludwig is safe."

"Safe doesn't cut it! Where is he? Locked up by whoever you're working with?"

Kiku shook his head, and Matthew noticed something especially frightening about him: his eyes. When he'd met the guy, he'd apparently just seen a good friend of his get kidnapped, but his eyes didn't reflect any of the horror of the situation, and simply stared dully ahead. But now, with the tip of the sword nearly touching his throat and the rest of them cornering him, something that could only be fear made them bright.

"He- he's free, to my knowledge," Kiku explained, hand curling around the blade at his side.

Gilbert leaned a bit closer, suddenly talking softly, but sounding no less threatening. "And everyone else. Feliciano, Alfred, where are they?"

"Alfred is with Ludwig. Both of them are free, both of them are safe."

Matthew breathed a sigh of relief. So his worst fears had been averted. But that relief only lasted as long as it took him to notice how quickly the rage enveloping Gilbert fell into shocked horror. "What did you do to him?", he yelled once more.

The "him" in question could only by Feliciano, judging by the glance Kiku cast towards Lovino. "I- I truly am sorry."

"Not an answer!"

Flinching at the red-hot glower, Kiku began to draw his blade and seemed to attempt to get to his feet. "I don't have any others to give you," he stated almost calmy. "I know very little about it, and even if I did, I would be unable to tell you."

Clutching tighter at the hilt of his sword, Gilbert practically snarled. "You- why would you side with them? I thought you cared about us! I trusted you, Ludwig trusted you!"

"Truly, I am sorry it turned out this way," Kiku stated, finally rising to his feet. "But, I must leave, I have other things to attend to. Farewell."

A blinding light came from something around Kiku's wrist, and in a matter of seconds, he'd vanished, leaving the seething Gilbert threatening to slit the throat of a patch of empty air.

But, before any of them could react, another burst of light came from elsewhere in the room. As Matthew turned to look at it, he could briefly see a familiar face enveloped in the brightness, and for a split second he was sure he held his gaze before both his older brother and the light vanished.

"Arthur, wait!", he cried out a heartbeat too late, and he knew it'd been pointless as soon as it left his mouth.

"'Arthur'?", Gilbert repeated, turning around to face him. The armor and sword both vanished from his figure as he did so.

Matthew hesitated. He'd been sure he'd seen him, but he could have just made an error in the blinding flash. But, for once everyone was staring at him, so he had to say something. "That other light, I thought I saw him for a second."

A loud sigh came from Gilbert. "So your brother's with them too?"

His heart skipped a few beats, but that couldn't be true. Arthur was as much of a stickler for "good" and "justice" as Alfred, even if he didn't shout about it all the time. "Let's not jump to conclusions," Matthew countered. "Maybe it was just some weird side effect of whatever Kiku used to hide himself, right?"

"No, I saw someone too!", Feliks insisted. "He looked sorta familiar, but I didn't really catch anything about him. Well, except that he'd do well to wax his eyebrows every once in a while."

Dead silence filled the air. Probably because everyone else could see how Matthew's heart dropped like a stone on his face. "That- that sounds like him…", he muttered, voice coming out as a faint breath.

"I still don't understand what's going on," Antonio interjected. "Did something happen to Feliciano?"

Gilbert turned his head towards his friend with an odd chill in his eyes. "Seems he's been captured. Probably something bad happened to him, and that's why Lovino's hurt. You should take him back to his house, and stay with him if you can. Make sure he doesn't get any worse."

He said the words like a drill sergeant giving orders. Compared to how Gilbert normally acted, the contrast was almost startling. "Uh, yeah, I'll do that," Antonio agreed, sounding just as unnerved by the shift.

"And Feliks, you go with them," Gilbert continued.

"Wh-what?", sputtered their so-called prisoner. "Why?"

The answer he gave sounded a lot more like it came from his younger brother. "You have healing powers, don't you? Use them to keep Lovino alive if he gets any worse."

"Alive?", Feliks repeated. "He's just sorta zoned out, what makes you think-?"

"Kiku probably would have said something if Feliciano wasn't in danger, and since they have connected magic, I don't know what that would do to him. We can't run that risk."

Not even Feliks could object to that, especially when given as such a dire-sounding order. "Uh, I'll get my stuff. One sec." He left the room quickly, and Antonio seemed to say something about helping him before following suit.

"And Matthew, are you alright?", Gilbert questioned with the same serious tone.

He wasn't sure he'd heard that correctly. Serious order, serious order, and "are you alright"? That didn't add up. "Why do you-?"

"You didn't get hit, did you?", Gilbert asked further, taking a few steps closer to him and scanning him with a much kinder gaze. "Without armor or healing or whatever Antonio did, any of those water things could have really hurt you."

"Uh, no?" He couldn't remember, and he supposed he would have.

A nod, and Gilbert walked over to the arm of one of the couches and picked up the phone Matthew had set there. "Do you feel up to talking to Alfred? If you don't want to after all that, I can call him, but if you wanna talk to him yourself, that'd be good."

"I-I'm fine! No reason to worry about me."

Yes, he was "fine". Even if he couldn't stop wondering if Alfred was alright, or what had happened with Arthur, or if Francis was still not part of anything. Well, maybe not completely "fine", but he didn't think there was a reason to worry about him of all people.

He expected Gil to just express cold relief and tell him to call Alfred. That was pretty much the opposite of what he actually did, which was sigh and ask him a really weird question: "Can I see your glasses for a second?"

"My… glasses?" Matthew reached to the bridge of them and squinted as he slid them off his face and handed them over. "Why do you need to see them?"

It was a bit hard to tell with everything reduced to blurry blobs, but it appeared Gilbert was cleaning them off with the hem of his shirt. "Well, I figured they must be pretty dirty if you can't see obvious things through them. Thought I might clean them off for you."

Odd, that was the first thing he'd said that sounded like his normal self since Kiku showed up. But… what was he talking about? "Obvious things? What do you-?"

"Look, there are lots of reasons to worry about you. Like how most of your family is probably in danger and possibly against us. And this is all kind of a lot, and no one's gonna blame you if you're upset."

Despite all the dread that was slowly seeping through his skin, Matthew found himself smiling. It was flattering to have someone care about him of all people during this. "Thank you. But I do want to talk to Alfred. I want to know what's going on, and I want to know if he's okay."

"Good. I'll- well, put it on speaker. I want to talk to him too. Ask him about Ludwig and everyone."

Matthew glanced down at his phone to call his twin, but found he couldn't see. "Uh, my glasses…"

"Oh, right. Here, this should help ya!"

If it wasn't for the careful precision that Gilbert used in putting the glasses back on his face, Matthew would have said that it sounded like his friend had calmed down and was back to normal. The light of his phone screen came quickly back into focus, and he suddenly found it hard to focus as he flicked the call history onto the screen. Why had it gotten so warm all of the sudden? It had been pleasantly cool before, but as he sat down with Gilbert next to him, he could feel himself burning up inside.

He managed after a moment to get the number up, though, and Alfred answered with remarkable speed. "M-Mattie, hey!", he answered, voice sounding even more distant than speakerphone normally made it. "What's up? Everything going good with everything?"

"Not- not really," he admitted. "We got attacked a minute ago. By- um, by…"

"It was Kiku, and we're thinking your older brother might have been there too, but we aren't sure," Gilbert finished, and he was silently immensely grateful for this.

Alfred's voice replied slowly and choppily. "O-oh. Right. That. Um, look, I'm gonna be upfront about this: I should have talked to you earlier."

Even with the distortion, he sounded dead serious. "About what?", Matthew pressed.

"Uh, wow, a lot of stuff actually!",

A low mutter came from somewhere on the other line. "You didn't tell him?", someone asked.

"Uh, no? Sorry, I was kinda freaking out a little."

The way Al was poking around the thing was a bit infuriating. "Come on, spit it out!," Matthew demanded as loudly as his voice would allow. Or rather, at a rather normal speaking voice. "Did something go wrong with your rescue mission?"

His twin laughed loudly. "Something went wrong? Ha, more like everything went wrong! I mean, for one, you were totally right about Francis being involved. Like, way too right, actually. Like, he's secretly evil and him and Artie plotted this entire thing to lure us into a trap right."

Matthew nearly dropped the phone out of his hand, and would have dropped anything else had he been holding it. His worst fears were confirmed and escalated, and he forgot for a second how to think or even breathe.

"Franny too…", mused Gilbert, but as steady as his voice came out, he could see how he was digging his nails into his skin to keep it that way. He let out a humorless laugh. "You know, I'm not feeling particularly vindicated right now."

And Matthew recalled how to form words in time to give voice to his own pain. "They… tricked us?" He questioned in disbelief.

"I know, I don't believe it either," Alfred agreed, the distance of the voice rather pronounced. It was a lonely feeling, hearing the only voice that really understood that feeling in his chest coming through an empty speaker. "But I'm sure there's something more to it, something we just don't know right now."

That sort of optimism was exactly what Matthew felt he needed at the moment, no matter how far it was. Grabbing for a throw pillow to hug, he rode the wave of homesickness and chuckled. "I thought the same thing. And if Francis is involved too, well, they probably have a good reason for working together for something like this."

A laugh that sounded too much like home broke the air. "Well, unfortunately, that's kind of last on our list of worries right now," said Alfred. "'Cause, like, Erika- you remember her, right? That girl we picked up? Well, her brother kind of got- well, not captured, but I guess whatever the tier above 'captured' is. Imprisoned? Well, he's probably in a lot of trouble, whatever it is."

And Gilbert was almost laughing too. Even if it ended quickly, it was almost like the storm Kiku had brought was clearing up. "Yeah, but what was all that with Kiku?", he questioned, ending the dry period. I mean, he pretty much trying to kill us, and he acted all weird when we caught him. Was he working with your brother or something?"

The voice that responded was very blatantly not Alfred's. It sounded like Gilbert's brother, maybe? It was hard to tell. "Yao said he was forced to join, and they were sending him to find Nations that hadn't awakened yet."

"Well, I guess that's what all that with Toni was…", mused Gilbert, casting a glance towards where Antonio had

That same voice that was probably Ludwig's expressed surprise. "Antonio? He has powers?"

Gilbert shrugged. "Eh, long story. But, like, did something happen to Feli? 'Cause when I asked about him, Kiku acted really weird about it, plus Lovi's pretty much out cold."

"Lovi? Is he alright?", Alfred questioned. It sounded like he meant to say something else, but Ludwig cut him off.

"That makes sense. And, ah…" He trailed off for a moment before clearing his throat. "Yes. Something did happen to Feliciano. He- well, his powers are being utilized by some sort of machine that will apparently kill him if given enough time."

Despite sounding incredibly confusing, Matthew could gather that whatever that was, it wasn't good. Especially given the frantic "What?" Gilbert gave.

"We're going to save 'em, though!", Alfred assured them brightly. "Kiku's brother told us where he is, so we're going to break him out of there!"

Those words sounded awfully familiar. Awfully like what he'd said about Arthur's rescue mission. And if that had ended poorly, that only made the nagging feeling in his chest grow."Where is it?", Matthew inquired.

His reply was a flat "huh?"

"Where are you going?", Matthew repeated. "If your last shot at this went so badly, I want to know where you're going to be."

Ludwig rattled off a string of coordinates, and Gilbert asked him to repeat them as he scribbled them down. He did the same when asked where they were at the moment, and where they had started from.

"Mattie, look that stuff up," Gilbert instructed, shoving his phone in his face. "Find a rendezvous point."

On the phone, he could hear his twin sputtering in disbelief. And he could hear Ludwig's questioning mutter as well. "Rendezvous? You don't mean…"

But Matthew found himself smiling as he tried to find somewhere they could meet up with them. It seemed that several hours away, there was somewhere the highway his brother's party was travelling along met the one that ran through the town they were in.

Unsurprisingly, Gilbert sounded even more smug. "What, you think I'm gonna stand back and let you guys save Feli and Kiku all alone? No way, I'm coming with you!"

A sigh of exasperation came from the speaker. "Look, I very much appreciate your help, but-"

Matthew quickly cut Ludwig off. "You won't stop us!", he insisted. "I don't care if I don't have powers, I still want to be there. If anything, maybe I could help talk to Francis and Arthur."

Contrasting Ludwig's groans, Alfred gave an excited reply. "Sweet! So we'll take them on together! Where do we meet up?"

Looking at Gilbert's screen, he rattled off the name of the closest town to the intersection point, adding "we'll see you soon, alright?"

"Yeah, can't wait!", and Alfred sounded genuine about that. "Later, bro!"

The sound of the other line hanging up ended the conversation, and Matthew found a sigh of his own escaping his mouth as he slowly realized what he'd just signed up for. "So… we're doing something really stupid, aren't we?", he dryly questioned.

"Yep," Gilbert answered in a similar tone. "But I'd rather do the stupid thing with Ludi than let him do it alone."

He just nodded, with a weary "mm-hmm". Matthew agreed wholeheartedly that he didn't want his own brother, or Gilbert, for that matter, to be alone in this. But, even more so, he just wanted to know what this all was. He wanted to know why Arthur had turned on them, why Francis had turned on them, why it felt like the entire world had inverted itself.

"I- I'll go talk to the others about it," Gilbert offered. "I know Feliks will be all for it, but I don't know about Toni. I can ask Liz too, but I doubt she'll agree."

Though he said it, he didn't act on it for a moment, giving Matthew time to voice a concern of his. "It's fine if I go, right? I mean, I know I don't have powers, but…"

"You still saved us with Kiku, right?", countered Gilbert. "And besides, we know you have powers. You just haven't figured out how to tap into them yet."

"How would I do that?", Matthew questioned. "I mean, Alfred said it just sort of happens, but…"

Gilbert closed his eyes for a moment, and his sword reappeared in his hand. "Well, it's sort of like if you're trying to listen for something, but instead of listening, you're trying to find something inside your body. And instead of a sound, it's a weird spark of energy. I know that doesn't make sense, but I don't know how else to say it."

Matthew tried to replicate the process. He closed his eyes and listened to the faint noises of Feliks clamoring about with his things and Gilbert's breathing. And then he tried to feel something, but found he could only see lights dancing behind his closed eyelids.

Those lights were bright, a blinding red-orange that was almost burning. He tried to focus on it, and it only grew brighter.

"Well, there you go!", Gilbert exclaimed, and Matthew found his eyes snapping open to a blank sea of white burning at his skin. A small cry of pain escaped his mouth, and when it all went away, he found that he was on the receiving end of a rather odd look.

"Wait, where did you…" Gilbert's eyes kept flitting over him. Looking down at himself, Matthew let out his own gasp of disbelief. It was almost impossible to focus on his own hand, like it was actively trying to be ignored.

"Um, try looking at me straight on…", Matthew suggested, reaching out to tap Gilbert on the shoulder.

Despite jumping a bit, Gilbert's eyes successfully landed on him. "Ehe, wow, that's freaky. But, gotta admit, I like your jacket."

The room felt unbearably warm once more. Perhaps that was the tan jacket in question's doing. But, Matthew had to wonder, how had he been able to transform this time? Why not while they were fighting Kiku, or any of the times before he'd tried to find something?

All he had for an answer was the weird feeling of light around his eyes and fact that Gilbert's words still stuck out in his mind. Maybe he had been blind with those glasses on before he'd pointed it out.

* * *

 ** _AN- There. Canada has powers. You happy? Also, the parties are merging, hence why I felt the need to double up on Parallels. This means two things. A, I'm going to have to worry about a lot more characters, and B, I thought of the worst team name ever and I feel so bad about it that I will have to subject you guys to it next time. But, that's next time's problem. Right now, let's just enjoy that I totally went there for Canada's power and used a similar Catalyst to his brother. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**

 ** _PS, I have also continued to follow the tradition of naming chapters where one of the twins transforms after anime songs! This one's worth noting, as the song Blindfold Code is about a girl who I stole the nature of Canada's invisibility powers here from. And because any excuse to mention Kagerou Daze is a good one._**


	43. B2- Cornflowers and Tulips

_Magitalia_

 _Bonus Chapter Two- Cornflowers and Tulips_

Things had changed so much in the past several years. Before, Germany could hardly let a day pass before someone would find it a good idea to come into his home uninvited and proceed to destroy careful straightening the last visit had forced him to do. Granted, Italy and his brother were responsible for ninety percent of this, and if anyone was to bother him, he would want it to be them, but that in no way made up for the fact that they were intrusive and irritating.

But then the disappearances started, and those rude visits became welcome. If even Russia, one of the strongest of any of them could vanish so suddenly, his sisters and the Baltics right with him, it surely meant that something was going on he needed to worry about. Despite his better judgement, he grew to wish for the days where someone, anyone would pop up out of nowhere and make him focus on something other than the fact that darkness loomed on the horizon.

No one was there to distract him anymore, though. After China and his family were cruelly murdered, everyone scattered and refused to allow the outside world to touch them. Even that didn't help in the end, though, as the yellow bird his older brother loved so much told him with its appearance at his window and panicked chirps.

Confirmation had come later from a hastily written note from Austria that this meant Prussia had fallen as well. And, it surely meant the start of his own demise. His brother, as childish as such a sentiment was, had always seemed unstoppable. If not even his nation being disbanded had killed him, how could whatever was destroying them all one by one have taken his life?

He embraced the silence, hoped perhaps solitude could give him something to prolong the life that had already ran far longer than it should have, but longed for the day his doorbell would ring once more. And when that day came, though his heart pounded, he took every precaution to assure it wasn't a trap. The cameras couldn't quite pick up the intruder's image, making him rather weary of it, but that apprehension lessened as he stared at it for a moment. Canada, his powers could trick a camera as easily as a human eye, and the way he smiled and the bouquet of tulips he held made it increasingly unlikely it was a trap.

That didn't prevent him from summoning a gun to point to his head as he opened the door for his peer. His apprehension decreased with the guest's response: "You… you saw me there? Wow, I was expecting to have to be there for another few hours before you let me in!"

"What brings you here?", Germany inquired, not putting the gun down quite yet. "And why the flowers?"

Canada shifted his weight a bit, and it took a moment for his eyes to readjust to the way his body actively fought being seen. He then held out the bouquet. "Oh, I, well, I heard about your brother. I'm very sorry for your loss."

Germany was unsure how to respond. Even now, he felt drained by the entire affair, but this was kind and as he scanned the flowers, he noted the blue cornflowers Prussia had liked best among the tulips. "Thank you," he stated curtly, closing the door behind them. "Ah, I- please, sit down!"

Vanishing for a moment, and then becoming visible once more on a chair in the corner of the room, his guest let out a quiet "oh, thanks".

As he set the bouquet down on the table, Germany desperately searched for something to say. He'd never known Canada particularly well, but he was the only other person he'd been able to share words with in far too long. So, his eyes were drawn to the flowers themselves as a topic.

"Thank you for the tulips. But I must ask, why would you bring me flowers?"

"Oh, well, he doesn't have a grave, so I thought I'd leave them with you instead," Canada muttered almost inaudibly.

"That isn't what I meant," Germany clarified. "I meant, why are you here? We've never been close, so you have no reason to feel sorry for me."

Perhaps it came off a bit harsher than he'd intended, as a rapid chain of apologies came from the nearly invisible nation. "Oh god, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you! I- I'm not trying to take pity on you! No, I just thought it'd be nice, and your brother was always really nice to me, so it just seemed right to try to be nice to you, right? So I got some cornflowers 'cause France had said those were his favorite. And I was stopping by Neth's place and he gave me those tulips to add to it. Yellow, purple, white, those are all colors he liked, right?"

Canada would explain his intentions a bit better in a letter he sent at a time much closer to his own death. The colors of the tulips had been very deliberate. Yellow for hopeless love, white for lost love, purple for undying love. It was what he'd never gotten the chance to say in life to the person who went out of his way to make sure he didn't feel as forgotten as the former nation did, and in all honesty, Germany wished he might have explained himself a bit better and saved himself from seeming like he had ulterior motives. But for now, he was just left wondering if those were in fact colors Prussia liked. White, yes, and the bird was yellow, but why purple?

"I… suppose. But, 'Neth'? Who is-"

"Oh! I-I meant Netherlands. Sorry!"

A few stunned blinks, and Germany couldn't quite place why he was so surprised to hear that. He was vaguely aware the two were friends, so why did that just sound strange to him. Perhaps because he hadn't realized he was still living? "Not a problem. Would you, er, like something to drink?"

"That would be lovely. You don't happen to have any Earl Grey, do you?"

Rushing to the pantry, Germany scanned the area designated for such things and found nothing of the sort. "I don't believe so. Very sorry."

"I-it's fine!", Canada assured him. "Really, I don't even like the stuff, but it's what England liked, so I've been sort of keeping it around lately."

His hand faltered as he adjusted the barely opened boxes of teabags in his pantry. "Why the past tense? Does he no longer care for it?"

Such a strange noise came from his guest. A weird squeak, followed by a bewildered "You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?" He knew what was coming next, but he still turned around and started back towards the living room to hear it better.

"England was killed not too long ago," Canada told with a morose sort of chuckle. "I mean, it wasn't surprising. He sort of lost it after my brother…"

"Your... brother? America's dead?"

It was hard to focus on the nod of confirmation his guest replied with. But, he quickly felt the chill about the room. So the two strongest remaining of the G8 had fallen, and he hadn't known. His isolation felt even more pronounced, and his mind started wandering to the places it did late at night. If he hadn't felt the fall of such strong presences, and if his brother's passing hadn't been detectable, what evidence did he have that Italy was still among the living? Or Japan? Or anyone, really?

The person in front of him surely knew, though. "Who else?", Germany pressed.

"Eh, an awful lot of us, actually. Most of England's family, Austria and Hungary, Switzerland, Turkey and Greece, Spain, Pol-"

"Stop," Germany demanded. He couldn't process all that quick enough. So many people he knew, wiped from this planet? Austria, he'd been the closest thing to family he had left, and Switzerland and Hungary were hardly different. That list, though, it very decidedly did not contain two- no, three or four things that were of the most concern to him in particular. So, after a numbing spell of silence, he added "But what of the rest of the G8?"

Oddly, Canada smiled after hearing this. "Well, the Italy brothers were supposedly hiding out with Spain, but no one ever found either of their bodies and no one's seen them since that, so I can't say if they're alright. And I think I remember America saying that Japan had been offered shelter by Greece, but I can't say if he took him up on the offer. But I can't say about France. I haven't heard a word from him in ages, and I'm getting a bit worried, to be honest."

An odd feeling came over his chest upon hearing this. Perhaps that was why Italy hadn't even so much as written to him. "Inconclusive, then?"

"Well, there's nothing saying they're dead!", Canada countered. "And nothing saying they won't be soon. That's part of why I'm here, actually. I'm looking for France, you see."

An explanation he could understand. That made Germany feel much better about the meeting, but also much worse. "I apologize that I couldn't be of more help."

"No, that's not what I mean!", Canada assured him. "I meant, um, well, I don't want to die alone. After everything that's happened, I want to find the few people left I care about and face the end with them. And, well, Prussia was one of them, and I never got to pay him back for his kindness. So, um, this was the best I could do."

That relief fell away and was replaced with confusion. In that same letter that explained the flowers, he also explained that he hadn't exactly meant "talking to you is the closest thing I have to talking to him". No, he'd meant "Prussia wouldn't want his little brother to die alone too so I will suggest to you that perhaps you should look for your friends". Which had come off as clear as mud, but regardless, the thought was appreciated. It did, in a strange way, plant the idea to look for them in his mind, but that would come later.

On that day, however, he took it the wrong way. "It isn't the best you can do," he stated, and he rushed into the room he'd been keeping his brother's bird in since it had come to him and retrieved it. Canada stared at the creature, seemingly not understanding the offer. So, he spelled it out

"He had this bird for centuries. If you want to do something for him, take her and take care of her. I know very little about birds, so perhaps you would be better equipped for the task."

In a weird way, perhaps this was a gesture of acceptance, and that might have been why it nearly drove Canada to tears. So, he left with a quiet "thank you" and the bird shortly after.

And once the quiet settled back in, it became apparent that Canada's plan had worked, unbeknownst to Germany. It only took a few days for him to realize that perhaps if he was to die, he should at least know if he was doing it before or after his friends, and a few weeks to realize that there was none better to investigate that than himself.

So, when he finally heard Canada's words loud and clear, he became oddly grateful to him. After all, the end of his life as Germany was made much less bitter by the presence of his dearest remaining friend and the person he loved most.

* * *

 _ **AN- Um, there's a reason I posted a Bonus Chapter instead of a normal one. And that reason is that I've decided to change my updating schedule significantly. I'll be updating on Thursdays from now on rather than once every three days, because I feel as if A, I've been far too stressed out by the current frequency of my updating, and B, the quality of the chapters is much lower because I post them moments after I finish them rather than going over them. I want to make sure I am delivering the best story I can, and I also want to make sure I don't get burned out on this story. So, I'm going to be posting other stories on Sundays as well. Like Heroic America's Legendary Quest for the Perfect Food, which I left alone for much longer than I meant to. And there's a Cardverse Anthology idea I've been sitting on for a while I'd like to be able to work on as well. Plus some assorted oneshots, because I want to write more of those and have time to work on them and not feel like it's cutting into this story's time. So, sorry that updates won't be as frequent, but I think this change will ultimately be for the better.**_

 _ **Also, PruCan. Like,** actual, **even if extreme one-sided** **PruCan and some GerIta. Plus Netherlands exists, and that's great. Thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	44. Scarlet Ripples

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty Two- Scarlet Ripples_

Observation one: everyone currently in the car with Alfred was a nervous wreck. Erika had said before they'd even gone to the base for a second time that she was not alright, and wow, did she back that statement up. She wasn't talking to anyone, not even to fight with Sealand. Speaking of which, the boy was talking almost constantly, and from personal experience, Alfred knew that meant he wasn't alright. Sweden, (or whatever his name was, he couldn't remember,) despite being really hard to understand, seemed to be at very least mildly irritated.

And Ludwig… well, he'd been on the verge of tears a few hours ago, and nearly exploded after the call from their brothers. Heck, he was about to call Gilbert back and tell him to stop being an idiot until Sealand pointed out that if they had greater numbers, they were a lot more likely to be able to actually save Feliciano. That shut him up.

Observation two: Alfred was perfectly fine. In fact, he was happier, or at very least more alright than he'd been in days. They were doing a heroic thing, going to save Feli from certain death, and surely that meant answers were close to coming, and also that everyone would actually let him go over the speed limit. Plus, Mattie would be joining them, and that made him feel a lot less… nervous? Homesick? Lonely? He wasn't sure what the right word was for that emotion, like a gaping hole was being slowly filled up.

Well, at least he was perfectly fine until he remembered that Lovino was probably dying too. Or that Toris was also at very least close to dying. Or that Matthew didn't have powers yet and would probably be in a lot of danger by joining them. Or that his older brother and the guy who might well be his older brother, along with Kiku, who he'd come to see as a good friend were collectively part of the enemy who were trying to kill his friends and also probably him.

Observation three: Observation two was becoming a moot point because it was getting late and it was slowly occurring to him that he had not slept very well in the past week and also that he was out of soda. In other words, his brain started zoning out and he became a bit unsure if it was okay for him to be driving, because he'd be all like:

Keep eyes on road keep eyes on road look in mirror speed up a little bit everyone I care about is screwed keep eyes on road

And that was probably not exactly, er, "safe".

So, as he stifled a yawn, it seemed that Sweden noticed this and muttered something about pulling over and switching. Normally, he would have jumped at this, but not having the "keep eyes on road" thoughts meant that the "everyone I care about is screwed" thoughts would be all that was left. Instead, he laughed and assured everyone that he was totally fine and could keep driving.

But then, why wasn't his body agreeing with his mouth? Because he pulled over anyway and got out, letting Sweden have the driver's seat and only realizing he'd sort of screwed up once they had already started back up and he was leaning his head against the car's window.

Another yawn, and he knew his mind was drifting off. Something about all his friends dying, something about hamburgers, something about that one episode of Doctor Who with the shadows and the library, something about his big brother being evil; it all became a jumbled mess.

And the jumbled mess became further scrambled as he fell further and further into it:

I'll see Mattie soon and then we can save everyone and oh what are all the characters in Sonic Adventure like Sonic and Tails and Knuckles and the fishing cat no one likes and I think Amy maybe and there was a robot but I can't remember the name this is driving me crazy I'll look it up but no I'm too tired and I need to sleep so I can help Artie and Francis and who was that girl Francis used to babysit like was it Monica or Mable or Michelle something that started with M but I just remember she wore ribbons in her pigtails and I keep thinking of this place with red water and black sky and-

A sudden loud noise and flash of light under his lids jolted Alfred from the sleepy haze. He looked around for the source and half thought he was dreaming when he saw some weird animal thingy that was seemingly made of light and sorta looked like a Patronus running beside the car.

"What the heck is that?", he questioned, half laughing and half yawning.

"Looks like they've figured out what we're doing," Sealand reported. "Guess they sent New Zealand after us, and if he's here, Australia probably is too."

Erika cast a glance backwards and gave a small chuckle. "Looks like there are a few cars back there," she reported quietly. "Can't quite make them out, but I think that might be-"

On the road in front of them, a weird spell circle appeared, dark pink comet-looking things shooting out of it. Sweden promptly hit the gas a bit harder than was probably necessary.

"Uh, we need to get away from them!", Sealand advised. "N-Norway… that was…"

"Oh, yes, the one that nearly killed me," Ludwig flatly remarked. "Let's try to return the favor." He leaned over Sealand and flicked the little window thingy that made it go down that Alfred was way too not awake to remember if it had a name or not. "You, would you mind turning back into the rabbit? I could aim better from the window seat."

Was no one gonna tell him about Norway? No? It seemed like not, as despite an annoyed glare, Sealand assumed Mint Bunny Form and started hovering in place as Ludwig undid his seatbelt and scooted towards the window.

Needles flew out of the window, and behind them, Alfred could vaguely hear some things falling to the ground. Ludwig simply sighed. "That isn't going to work."

Had Alfred been more awake, he would have laughed and pointed out that yeah, you throw needles at a car and it's not gonna do much. But he was under the minimum amount of awareness required for that, so all that came of that was an empty chuckle.

"My attacks aren't doing much either," Erika added as a weird Patronus Sheep thing ran past her open window. She must have been attacking too? Had Alfred missed that part?

Stifling another yawn, Alfred tried to think. He had fire. Could make the sheep go boom probably. Or he could shoot it. Or he could nap, that also sounded like a good plan.

Yeah, he'd do that last one. Bowing his head and closing his eyes, he let the scrambled eggs in his head try even less to make sense.

* * *

 _There was that red water and black sky again, all red-y and black-y. It was like he was laying down in it, the water washing over his skin in ebbs and flows and not feeling wet at all._

 _And he could hear breathing too, breathing that wasn't his own. He knew exactly who it was but couldn't give the person a name or a face. Ah, no, he could, sort of, but it wasn't right._

 _He started to call out to them before being jolted awake by another loud boom._

* * *

Eyes shooting open, he looked around for the source before the sound repeated. It was coming from… on the roof? Of the car?

"Wha- what's goin' on…", he sleepily muttered.

"Just having Sealand use his cannon," Erika explained with a yawn. "Thought it might work better."

Looking around, Alfred found that the kid was nowhere in sight. The rabbit wasn't there either. So did he… climb onto the roof? No? He had no idea and really didn't care so closed his eyes once more and let the booming noises lull him back into the red water.

* * *

 _That person was still near him, and the ripples passing over his skin felt like they could have been from their movement. And he called out to them with a name he knew was wrong:_

 _"Hey, Iggy?"_

 _He got a half chuckle in response, ringing clear and bitter across the blackness. "Still calling me that?"_

 _In the blackness, he tried to produce his proper name, but couldn't. So, he laughed it off. "Ah, well, I can't remember what I was supposed to call you."_

 _"England. I'm England. And you're America."_

 _Had he said something wrong? He sounded so sad. And he said something else, but it was drowned out by another loud crash and a terrifying jolt._

* * *

Alfred opened his eyes once more to find that the weird sheep things had been joined by a few other animals. Koalas, maybe? Or like, something weird looking. Whatever they were, they were running into the car.

"Stop that!", Alfred tried to exclaim, rolling the window down. No matter how not awake he was, that was, in fact, his car they were ramming into and that was not okay.

Pushing his glasses up on his face, he tried to transform. But by the time he realized that he hadn't actually transformed at all, he was already trying to throw fire at the weird things.

As his consciousness decided that it was already done with doing things, he noticed a hand reaching forward and rolling his window up. It was followed by a voice "Go to sleep, Alfred."

Yeah, that sounded like a good course of action, and he closed his eyes again and found the red water back at the front of his mind.

* * *

 _It seemed more distant this time, like he was only half there, but he could still feel the ripples of the water. And a vague laugh came out of his mouth, like he was replying to a conversation he couldn't remember. "Ha, you're funny. No way I'd forget my own name."_

 _(But he had forgotten he really had and his own thoughts were so distant like words on a teleprompter and all a jumbled mess)_

 _"Just making sure. Wouldn't surprise me if someone as dense as you forgot who you were in here."_

 _(Wow he never changed not even when they were both far beyond death)_

 _"Yeah, sure. But… I still don't get why we're here."_

 _(The water wasn't cold and wasn't wet and probably wasn't water but it splashed around his skin as he laid in it and stared at the empty sky)_

 _"We died. End of story."_

 _(Even now he was so patronizing and he didn't for a second regret revolting but he was all he had right now)_

 _"Yeah, I got that, but why'd we end up here? And we're not really supposed to die, right?"_

 _(All the holes in his memory still let him remember blood and tears in life)_

 _"Well, I've heard it said that if one of us is killed, then we will be reborn as normal humans. I suppose that this is simply where we are in the meantime."_

 _(Was it really possible even after everything they'd lost that the thing he'd wanted since seeing Davie put in the ground would come to pass but how did he remember his old friend's name but not his own)_

 _"We'll be human? Really?"_

 _Before he could get a response, a buzzing resonated in his ears. Noises that didn't belong in the endless red and black, or in that time at all. And a voice, sounding artificial and hostile._

* * *

And so Alfred awoke to a screaming coming from the phone in his pocket. It wasn't a call, no, but a voice was coming from it and if he tried he was sure he could place it.

"Alfred Jones! Would you wake up and listen to me!"

"Uh, sure," he muttered into the speaker. "Who is this? Also, what?"

A voice yelled from somewhere outside the car, maybe on the roof. "It's Estonia! He can manipulate electronics and project himself through them!", Sealand explained.

"And how did that work for him before electronics were invented?", Ludwig inquired.

Sealand yelled back over the sound of wind and fire "I don't know, I wasn't around back then! He's always been able to talk over phone from anywhere even before cell phones!"

Over the hacked phone or whatever, Estonia cleared his throat and it sounded all… pixelated. Wait, that wasn't sound. "It doesn't matter, but I'd like your attention for a moment. Alfred, my cousin has mentioned you before. Said you were a nice guy, a good friend."

His… cousin? Yeah, not ringing a bell, but maybe because half his brain was still floating in the red abyss. "Who?"

"Toris Lorinaitis! Or Lithuania if you'd rather."

Maybe it was partially that he wasn't awake, but all he really got out of that was that Toris thought he was a good friend, and that didn't really match up with what he remembered of that friendship. For no reason whatsoever, all he remembered was a shouty blond and Toris acting all nervous.

"Oh, really?"; that was the best response half-asleep-Alfred could come up with.

"Ugh, please just listen! Look, if you consider Toris a friend, I ask you to stand down. His death is assured after what happened with Japan, and the only thing I can think of to avert it is to take your party down."

That probably meant something. And Alfred felt nebulously guilty, but still could hear the lapping of the waves of scarlet from the dream.

In other words, he was really happy Ludwig said something for him because he couldn't really process all of that at the moment. "We are very sorry for your loss, but we have no intentions of standing down. We wish to prevent more tragedies, and there is no way to do that on your side."

Inside his fogged-up brain, things began to snap back into place for Alfred, or at least enough for him to form a response. "Why are you helping the people who are killing your brother anyways? If you love him that much, why don't you save him yourself?"

Silence came from the phone, until a distorted objection rose up. "He- he's my cousin, I just said that! And I am trying to protect him!"

Oh, right, everyone he loved had turned against him and all that. Alfred vaguely remembered having a conversation sort of like that with Iggy- er, Artie. "How can you protect someone you're attacking?", he countered, and the phone made a sound somewhere between shorting out and hanging up.

Alfred realized that probably meant Estonia had decided to shut up, and chuckled slightly. His eyelids were heavy, but he got the feeling he'd said something sort of smart, at least. Or maybe it'd been dumb because he was projecting his feelings from the mess with his brother onto it. Well, either way, he was still freaking tired.

* * *

 _The red water came again, and the black sky was burned into his eyelids, and he fell back into the weird gap between consciousness and unconsciousness in the dream and his thoughts fluttered like leaves._

 _(Iggy hesitates too much before answering like he thinks it matters if he says something wrong or stupid even now)_

 _"I don't know, but that's what he told me. He… ah, you remember him, right? Dear friend, bloody frog, completely insufferable, rather handsome; surely you know who I'm talking about?"_

 _(A name was on the tip of his tongue and he could picture a familiar face with blue eyes and long blond hair and stubble but oh what was his name again only one thing came to mind but it wasn't right)_

 _"Ah yeah, that guy. Er, Dad."_

 _(Iggy groaned like that had been a stupid thing to say okay maybe it did matter here if you said something stupid because you couldn't run away from it)_

 _"Was… he your father? You and your brother, ah, what was his…"_

 _(Canada that name came so easily it would be plain evil to forget it when everyone else did)_

 _"My brother? Canada? How could you forget about him?"_

 _(Yeah it did matter if you did something stupid because now Iggy couldn't escape his shame)_

 _"Sorry, of course. Canada. Your brother. He's still alive, right?"_

 _(Well he certainly wasn't there and now he was lonely thanks Iggy for bringing that up)_

 _"He'd better be!"_

 _(Please just be alright please)_

 _"I'm sure he is. He- well, he's clever. Clever boy, he'll keep out of trouble."_

 _(Canada was always the smart one and the more he thought about it the more it felt like he only had half a brain without him)_

 _"Ha, he'll be just fine."_

 _(Keep saying that and it will be true right)_

 _"And the others, ah, who else is there?"_

 _(Only half remembered faces came like long brown hair and a caring smile that would never forgive him and a sharp glare and amber eyes and a kid in a sailor suit and a girl with pigtails and red ribbons by the sea and a loud laugh and pale hair and skin and a pink scarf paired with a big nose but no names came to any of them)_

 _"Dunno, but I mean, there were some of us left, right?"_

 _(Well it had been freaking forever since he came here so maybe not anymore)_

 _"I would assume so. Ah, America?"_

 _(That name was his right)_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _(He still wasn't sure who it belonged to)_

 _"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't have protected you more. Ehe, some big brother I turned out to be."_

 _(If nothing else he could remember that the guy whose voice he heard had once been his big brother before he had rebelled and those memories were bittersweet)_

 _"It's fine. Not your fault."_

 _(Honestly he couldn't remember how it happened anymore)_

 _"I know, I know, but I should have done something, surely."_

 _(Please don't be so sad Iggy if you start crying there will be nothing here but tears)_

 _"Whatever, you- well, you're a good 'big brother'."_

 _(Well he was but he hadn't called him that in so long that the words felt weird)_

 _"Truly?"_

 _(But he sounded so happy)_

 _"Yeah!"_

 _(A vague chuckle)_

 _"I- I wish things could have turned out differently. We spent so long half hating each other, and now, well, we're dead."_

 _(Things could have been different and he always hated how things turned out with Iggy but he didn't regret his path for a second)_

 _"Well, we'll be reborn, right? Maybe it'll be different this time."_

 _(He was tired so tired and he felt like he existed even less than he did before)_

 _"Maybe… maybe we can be brothers again and it won't turn out so bad."_

 _"I'd like that."_

 _Somewhere beyond the red water, he could hear other voices, but he was content to just vanish for now._

* * *

 _ **AN- Well, sorry that update wasn't exactly when I said it would be. This took forever to figure out how to write, and even longer to get written. But, I think it's pretty clear why, and I think it worked out better, since it sort of weens off of my frequent updates instead of going three days, three days, a week, and then a week from then on out. And please keep in mind that I am allowed to update more or less frequently than every Thursday, and that's just what I'm aiming for. Since Spring Break is coming up, I might be writing a bit more than that, but don't expect that to be the norm.**_

 _ **But, story, right. That Red Water Place Flashback with America and England is a thing I'd had planned from the start, pretty much. I wanted justification as to why they're siblings in this world, and that seemed to do it. Also, I have stolen another power from KagePro, this time giving Ene's powers of electronic habitation to Estonia because that seemed to fit him. Honestly, I stole most of these powers from somewhere. France has Charmspeak from Percy Jackson, Germany's powers are half borrowed from Toph, and now New Zealand and Australia summon armies of basically Patronuses. Yeah, I might have been lying when I said we wouldn't see them again, but to be fair, I'm sort of running out of characters. Not saying I regret killing Korea and Taiwan, but, er, well… Anyways, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, for the next few chapters, I'm thinking there will be one or two normal chapters and two or three parallel chapters before the heroes storm Italy's base. But, would you rather have the normal and parallel chapters clumped together, or have a parallel chapter next and then the rest of the normal and then the rest of the parallel? But just a head's up, I have a good portion of the first parallel chapter written, so it might be faster if I go with that.**_


	45. P6- Despair Vow (In the Machine)

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter Six- Despair Vow_

It felt like he'd been running forever. His head was pounding like crazy, and he was out of breath, but his legs propelled him forward regardless.

Where was he? It was so dark there, so dark he couldn't think. Dark, darker, yet darker still; and yet there was only more dark in sight.

Think, think, how long had he been at this? At least forever, maybe longer, and he felt completely exhausted. But no, he'd only just started a brief moment again. Think, think, what came before this?

Only splinters of green danced before his eyes. Bubbles of liquid and shards of broken glass shining with an intense chartreuse. Someone stood among the wreckage of a broken laboratory in front of him, holding a clipboard and smiling- no, that wasn't a smile, it was a grimace.

The man in the wreckage turned to him, suddenly pressed against his face. Red eyes bore into him, shimmering with light and something else. A strained laugh pierced his ears.

"Look up here, alrighty? Let me see your eyes."

But… he was looking straight at him. There eyes were centimeters apart, and neither had blinked in long enough to make him burn.

In an instant, the man dissolved into pieces, coming apart like a ripped up paper, filling the air with fragments.

A voice rang out in the back of his head: "Agh, why are you doing this! You promised, right?"

It was familiar, too familiar, as familiar as falling asleep. And yet, he couldn't say who it was.

It kept on going: "You remember, right? What you promised?"

What promise? What was he doing wrong? He tried to remember, but…

In front of him, another scene formed. Three achingly familiar figures stood outside, surrounded by asphalt and tension. It was hard to hear what they were saying, but…

"I'll fade from your memory…", one of the figures admitted. They shifted their weight a bit as they said it, looking to the ground with empty looking eyes. He said more, but it was hard to see.

Another of them, the most and least familiar of all with a blurry face took a slight step forward and shouted "I'd never forget you!"

Was this the promise he'd made? No, that wasn't right. That was nothing more than a conversation.

A different scene formed of two figures walking through woods stained the dull brown of late autumn. They were holding hands, seeming almost nervous about something. It seemed the taller of the two was about to say something, but that voice at the back of his head interrupted him.

"No, it's not anything stupid like that! Stop trying to look for it here!"

A stabbing pain overtook his head, echoed in miniature in every corner of his body. No, he had to keep looking. He had to remember. He had to, or that pain wouldn't end.

That voice kept repeating, and he knew he had to listen to it. A cry of pain escaped his mouth, and both his past self and the precious person with him turned at the source of the noise. They both looked distorted, as if a pool of water separated them.

In desperation, he reached for Germany. He took a step towards himself and his love, reaching has hand through the ocean between them.

But the instance he moved, everything in front of him fell away, including the person he wanted to reach.

Remember… remember… remember… A voice repeated those words in his head in a voice much different than the one yelling at him. It was cold and mechanical, like the clacking together of gears.

And with each repeat of the command, the pain swelling around him grew worse. He screamed out, screamed loudly, but it only got worse until his eyes began to burn like coals and he couldn't shut them as white overtook his sight.

Then, the pain lessened a bit and the white formed a bright meadow. His breath caught in his throat as he recognized the child sitting at an older man's side, and his eyes burned with water instead of fire when he recognized that man.

"Grandpa!", he cried out, but the man who had raised him, the man he'd watched die years ago didn't seem to hear him. Instead, he regarded the younger version of his grandson at his side.

"What did you draw there?", he asked in that familiar playful tone, and a smile burned itself into the observer's lips despite the tears running down his face.

His younger self looked up from the pad of paper in his lap and raised the drawing up. It was fairly good, despite how the artist looked to be no older than six, but the subject matter was incredibly odd. It was a group of three sitting around a campfire on what seemed to be a beach somewhere, two of them looking forwards as if expecting something and the third laying down as if asleep. "It's this dream I keep having," the child explained. "I'm on this island with some people I think are my friends and we get attacked by these other guys, but I'm older and-"

"Are these really dreams?", his grandfather pressed. "Or are they visions like mine?"

The child hesitated before nodding. "I think they are. I mean, I keep having them when I'm awake sometimes, and they can get really scary."

A brief shock flitted across the old man's face before he looked away and sighed. "Italy, you have to promise me you won't use your visions."

"Why not?"

"They're too scary for you. Too scary for anyone."

Words echoed beneath the surface giving light to the excuse: "they'll break your mind and break your soul until there is nothing left but to fall".

His younger self gave a confused "ve~" sound. "But you have visions!", he protested. "And you aren't scared, right?"

Laughing, his grandfather reached over to ruffle the child's hair. "Everyone gets scared!"

"But I promise I won't use my powers!", the young Italy added.

A flash of light filled the air and gave way to reveal a similar scene, but this one in a stormy twilight with the child standing over a crumbling corpse.

Sobs filled the air. "I promise I'll never use my power, Grandpa Rome!", the child cried as his grandfather's body fell apart in front of him.

Briefly, a painfully familiar hospital spliced into the image in front of him, with a beeping growing duller and fainter and two brothers sobbing into each other's arms as it did so.

But as the hospital was replaced once more with the ancient scene, Feliciano found he could no longer see either of them. His tears were falling too thick and fast and all he could see or feel was them welling up in his eyes.

"Idiot, do you see now?", the voice in the back of his head yelled. "You promised, so you need to get out of here!"

Shaky breaths caught in his throat. Of course, these were visions, and he wasn't supposed to use them because his grandpa had made him promise. How could he have forgotten that, how could he have broken that most important vow?

Because it wasn't him that made it. Because that had been Italy, the real one, the one that had died. Feliciano Vargas never promised that, didn't even remember that.

That didn't make it alright, though. It was as good as a promise he himself had made, and the way his hairs stood on end and that stabbing pain resonated in every corner of his being told him that he needed to get away and snap out of it regardless of any promises.

Stumbling about his words, he started to run forward through the crumbling blackness. Wake up, wake up, he begged himself.

Another headache overtook him. The pain beckoned him to keep looking, told him that he had to keep looking or there would be nothing left of him to fight.

Forward was the only way to go, whether to the exit or further in. And with nothing but darkness all around, there was no correct forward, so he just continued ahead.

Step forward, step forward, step forward; he kept running until he something stopped him. A sound of faint laughter lit the darkness, and he turned around. Kiku was standing inches away from him, head bowed awkwardly. Something seemed off, but it was nice to see someone straight on like this.

"Kiku! It's really great to see-"

The laughter getting louder cut him off. Something in his chest stopped as Kiku looked up at him to reveal unfocused, hollow eyes and a crazed grin. It made him almost sick to look at, but he couldn't tear his eyes away at all. All the void fell away to reveal a street bathed in sunset, and as Japan raised his hand to reveal a knife.

"No, stop!", he begged, but that voice blared again in his head.

"He's not real! This is a dream, so stop freaking out!"

Japan was getting closer with the knife, but as real as it looked, Feliciano reminded himself not to be afraid. It was just a dream, it wasn't real, it was nothing but a dream.

But god, if that look in his eyes didn't make him want to run...

Dying in a dream would wake you up, right? Well, Italy was happy to escape from this nightmare, so he waited for the gleaming blade to enter his chest.

It didn't do much than make the world around him blurry as he felt himself turn cold and a terrible pain started to spread after a few seconds. Blood was dripping from it, but the knife and its wielder both vanished, leaving only the empty street and his pain.

That voice again: "Ven, you have to wake up!"

"I'm trying!", he cried back, and the street began to become bathed in a green light.

After a moment, the place was covered in green water that reached up to his ankles and the sky above made of only silver and dark grey. In the distance, he could see more people.

The voice provided no guidance, but he knew he had to keep going. So he walked slowly towards the crowd, splashes of water burning at his shins.

Ahead, the crowd of people became clearly visible. A number of figures stood in a circle, all looking familiar in a sort of "deja vu" way. A man with spiky blond hair; an oddly short young man who was trembling slightly; a dark haired young man wearing red and gold; a pretty girl holding a knife and wearing a bow; many more he couldn't quite place. The only thing they all had in common was the greenish tint to their skin and the deadened look in their eyes.

But as he wormed his way into the circle, he noted that they were gathered around a young man who was on his hands and knees. His eyes still shone with light and his skin, while pale, lacked the sick green hue, which is perhaps why he looked around frantically, lingering a bit too long on the bow-wearing girl- no, on Belarus. He killed her after all, he needed to remember her name.

Stepping forward, a sharply dressed man with blood-colored eyes that still shone bent down and placed his hand under the cornered man's- no, Lithuania's chin, forcing him to raise his head and look at him straight on.

Smiling and chuckling, the man muttered something he didn't quite catch before letting Lithuania's head fall once more and stepping back.

"You- you won't kill me," insisted the cornered, eyes focused on the green water, like it might hold the key to him living through this.

This time, he could hear what the red-eyed man said. "Of course not! What, did you think we were that kind?"

Eyes widening, Lithuania suddenly seemed to struggle to get to his feet, but the green water coiled around him. "N-no!", he cried, and the coils of water began to drag him deeper.

Two more figures joined the circle as the pool of water drowned the struggling man, and their names came at once. Switzerland and Japan, both with greenish skin and dead eyes, watched the horrors unfold.

A scream rose in the back of Feliciano's mouth, but it was silenced by another surge of unbearable pain. No, you're doing well, it told him. Just keep looking and perhaps…

Another two joined the circle as it started to flicker out of existence. One looked exactly like Roma- Lovino, his name was Lovino, and the other was undoubtedly Feliciano himself. They looked as dead as anyone there, and the sight made his heart stop.

"You can't keep doing this!", that voice insisted. "Please, I don't know how, but you have to stop having visions like this!"

Alongside the headache, something cold pounded through his head, like ice in his veins. They made his eyes burn, and he was positive now that he couldn't close them if he wanted to.

Quickly, even more flat than the dreams that would stretch out in the darkness, he saw brief images that were too rapid to even process. Five people sat wordlessly in a car; a white-wearing man with straight black hair scribbled something in chalk on the wall of a cell; in a hallway, one person talked and the other smashed their lips into theirs to force them into silence.

Very good, very good, said a lull in the pain. Keep this up and perhaps you will live.

But a counter from the other voice. "No, don't do this! You have to stop!"

More images flashed. Red strings crossed the air with a very important person in their midsts; someone walked through a parking lot in a storm of falling leaves; walls appeared around a figure as they let out a cry; someone sat in an alleyway with a half-eaten apple in one hand and a book in the other.

With every flash, the pain got worse. The dull knife kept bearing into the back of his neck, with a thousand more in every last pore. He couldn't keep letting this happen, he had to run.

Despite the disorienting pain and the blackness all around, he kept going forward. Another figure stood in his path, the person he wanted most to see, but that had ended badly last time. Instead of stopping, he simply held his hand out as he passed by and felt it gently pass through nothing where it appeared a cheek should be.

The way his heart jumped made his legs start pushing him forward even faster. He kept running, kept running, not even from anything but he was running and he couldn't stop even for a second but flashes of light and yells of voice and pain tried to stop him but he had to keep running and he gasped for breath until finally after what felt like an eternity he stopped.

He sat down and a scene formed around him, everything in his head reduced to a soft, ignorable whimper.

Looking around, he saw he was in a train station. No one was there, though. In fact, not a single thing moved. There were simply signs he couldn't quite read looming over a silent platform and tracks.

But no, he wasn't quite alone. Looking again, he saw a boy sitting next to him, eyes fixated on the platform. His irises were oddly fractured; violet with angry red splinters. The name for this person was on the tip of his tongue, but they vanished into the unmoving clouds above.

As he sat panting, he decided to attempt to make conversation with the only other person. Clearing his throat, his feeble voice questioned "So, where are you going?"

It took a moment for the boy to acknowledge him, and only after he'd decided that his question had gone unheard, he responded. "I don't plan to go anywhere," he stated. "I'm just waiting for some people, that's all."

"Really?", he asked. "Who are you waiting for?"

The boy still refused to take his eyes off the train tracks, but he still sighed. "My friend, he promised he'd meet me here. He promised, but he hasn't arrived. And someone else too, he should have gotten here long before myself, but I haven't seen him either."

"Well, who are these guys? Maybe I've seen them!"

Did he sense those were false words made to keep his companion talking. It seemed so, but he did keep talking, even if it was in a way that barely answered anything. "My dear friend, we promised to die together if we ever got caught. Leon… he promised, he heard what I told him. But, he's still not here."

"I'm sorry." That was all he could think to say.

And the two sat in silence for a moment longer until noise could finally be heard coming from the distance. The clatter of machinery, and the boy's eyes widened hopefully as they both turned their heads to watch the train arrive. But, both felt the pang of disappointment as the doors opened and revealed none to be on it.

"This is for me…", Italy muttered. Something pulsing in his mind told him that, even if he hadn't realized it before. "Thanks for talking to me. I hope you find them."

The boy smiled as Italy stood up and walked into the open doors of the train carriage. "I won't," he called back sadly. "They aren't coming. They never will."

He said it with such certainty that Italy couldn't even find words to try to tell him to keep up hope. So, he just watched as the doors began to clatter shut and looked out the window as the empty station got further and further.

But, just as the doors closed, the station vanished. Instead, he looked at Iceland sitting alone in a pool of red water that extended further than he could see, glowing with a faint light that made up for the pitch blackness of the sky. Once more, they locked eyes, and Iceland mouthed something: "sorry".

That vaguely familiar voice yelled at him from the back of his consciousness once more. "Agh, Veneziano, please! This is getting bad! I- I'm going to try something…"

A brilliant flash filled his mind and the voice let out a concentrated shout. The train carriage around him started to flicker, with flashes of a pool of the bluest water he'd ever seen replacing it. There was clearly a figure in the midst of it, and that pounding pain in his head made them blur, but Veneziano tried to run towards them over the pain.

More needlepoint stabs from everywhere on his skin, but he knew he had to reach that person. The voice in his head egged him on until he was standing right before that person, who noticed him with a wide-eyes gape. But they then smiled widely and extended a hand towards him.

"You shouldn't be here, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy to see you, fratello," the person stated. Their bent-up hair curl, their smug smile, it all seemed painfully familiar, but he had no idea who this person was.

It became hard to see them, though, as black clouded his vision as the headache roared louder.

More images flashed in front of him, too quickly to make them stop. Sand curling around someone; a ceiling with a slight purple stain in the corner; two people embracing in an empty lot before another person arrived in a flash of light and shot one of them; a bouquet of tulips sitting of a table.

A cat-ear-wearing man holding a gun and laughing madly; a map drawn on lined paper in pen with some things scribbled out; a masked figure and a bird standing opposite a laughing girl in a blue dress; a blue ribbon being eaten by flames; the light draining quickly from blue eyes-

"Fratello!", the figure in front of him shouted, grabbing both his shoulders and shaking him a bit violently. "Come on, you've gotta stop this!"

"It isn't any use, though," someone else said in the same voice that had been ringing in his head. He turned to face his older brother. It was Romano, of course it was Romano, who else could it have been. "I've been trying to save him but it- it isn't working."

Tears started to run down Ita… Feli… Ven… ah, it was getting hard to remember what his name was, but he was crying. His brother made a move as if he were coming to hug him, but vanished just before he was close enough to touch. The other figure vanished as well and the water all went away, leaving just blackness.

His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, sobbing. Around him, he kept looking, and he kept seeing people flickering in and out of existence, but visions flickered meaninglessly in and out of his vision as the terrible pain that had almost stopped bothering him kept screaming loudly. He just fell to his side in the warm-cool blackness and let the tears make a silver puddle between the flashes of images that meant nothing.

It was impossible to think. All that was left was the visions and the burning pain.

* * *

 _ **AN- Ahaha, how lovely that this update happened to fall on the birthday of the Italies! Happy birthday, my darlings, and on this date I shall wish you the best and grant you despair! Ah, but I'll say no more. This chapter is open to interpret, and I won't rob you lovely people of that! I'll just say that some things are not what will be or what was, but what could have been. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	46. B3- Hesitant Vow

_Magitalia_

 _Bonus Chapter Three- Hesitant Vow_

Blackness faded to reveal a quiet scene:

Two figures sat together in what seemed to be the middle of an empty field. Both looked tired, with dark circles under their eyes and a few stray cuts staining their skin. One of them, a dull-eyed boy with nearly white blond hair, looked up at the sky, while the other, who bore darker hair and brighter eyes looked at his companion with a quizzical expression.

"What's bugging you?", he questioned, and the other just sighed.

The pale-haired boy hesitated before asking an odd question: "Did you mean it when you said you'd follow me to the grave?"

"Of course I did!", his companion exclaimed. "I'll stand by your side until your last breath. Or until mine. Whichever comes first- and don't tell me, I wanna be surprised."

It sounded as if that had been intended as a joke, but the light-haired boy didn't laugh. "And when you said you'd do anything for my sake, did you mean that?", he continued.

"Well, yeah! I mean, have I not proved that?"

The ghost of a smile appeared as the lighter haired one examined the grass between his fingers. "Of course you have. You've done far too much for me. And I'm sorry for that. You've given up everything for my sake, and what have I given you in return?"

Taking a deep breath, the dark-haired boy held a hand off and began ticking reasons off on his fingers. "Your heart. An explanation as to what I am and why everything sucks. The chance to outlive Mei and Yong Soo. Food. Light in my darkest hours..."

They looked at each other for a moment before both chuckling. "You're laying it on a bit thick there, but I'm glad you think I'm worth all this pain."

"Look, if I wasn't with you, I'd still be running regardless. Or dead. More likely that. So don't think for a second I'd be better off without you."

"That's beside the point," the light-haired one stated. "What I meant to say is, I hate to ask anything more of you, but if the day ever comes that we are captured, I want you to promise that you will kill me yourself before they can take me, and do it in a way that leaves no corpse behind."

He seemed surprised, almost appalled by the words that had just come out of the other's mouth. "You aren't serious, are you?", he asked, a skeptic laugh behind the words.

Giving a stifled yawn, the lighter haired boy turned back to his companion and nodded. "Dead serious."

One of the two, the dark-haired boy, he let out a noise between a scoff and a laugh. "But… I couldn't do something like that," he muttered, almost apologetically. More decisively, he added "I'm not going to kill you, even if you don't think there's another way! You've been wrong before, and you'll be wrong this time, just you see."

"Please, you need to just trust me," the lighter haired one implored. "If I get caught, I'll be forced in the machine. If I get in that machine, not only will I lose my mind, but I'll lose my body as well. It'd be a fate worse than death, so can you please just promise to relieve me of that before it happens?"

Hesitating, the other boy finally sighed. "Fine. But, let's try to find another way so that doesn't have to happen, alright? I just don't think I could live knowing I killed you, Em."

"D-don't call me that…", 'Em' muttered. "But, you won't have to. What they'll do to you will be as bad as me, so you should make sure they don't take you alive either."

The look on his face was one of clear horror. "What? No- that's not… No, I don't care what you say, neither of us are dying, even if they catch us! I'm sure we can find a way to survive, even if the worst does happen."

"Leon, don't you trust my judgement?", "Em" pressed. "If I saw any other way, I wouldn't be resorting to this. But, if we get caught…"

Sighing loudly, "Em" looked up at the sky, his hand searching for his companion's. "I've seen it, you know. What will happen after they're done with my visions, and it isn't pretty."

"Oh? You, not pretty? How is that?"

"Em" glared at the other boy, but the blush he bore was as clear as light. "Stop flirting, I'm being serious. I can faintly see an endless prison, locked in a body that's falling apart, barely awake enough to scream, but not in control of the body enough to make a sound. That's our fate."

"That… that's what gonna happen to us?", "Leon" questioned. "But I don't have your powers, what makes you think I'll end up like that too?"

"I- well, I don't know," "Em" admitted. "Honestly, it's likely that will only be my fate, but if I'm wrong, well, I just don't want the only person left I love to suffer like that. If we both die on our own terms, we'll reincarnate quickly, but if only one of us does, it will take longer. And I know we will, I can see far enough to be certain of that."

A strange chuckling gasp for air came from his mouth, and Leon squeezed his companion's hand. "There's no way I'll ever let that happen to you, alright? I promise."

"Em" gave a halfhearted smile. "Thank you. But, I care significantly more about protecting you. If I get the chance, if we're caught, I'll try to kill you before they can get a hold of you if it makes it easier."

"So we just kill each other?" "Leon" looked up at the sky as well, but closed his eyes as the light above hit his face. "Not sure how we'll manage that. I delay the explosions and you stab me a few times?"

"Well, if you say it like that…" "Em" turned away and sighed. "We'll figure it out. But hopefully, we'll be able to avert this fate all together and never have cause to worry about these plans."

"Leon" scooted a bit closer to his partner and put his head on his shoulder, meriting a light chuckle. "We will. But can we talk about something a bit less terrible?"

"Like how I don't deserve you?"

"Shut up."

(Several months later, Leon would keep his promise. As they were finally cornered, he glanced over to Emil, who drew his fingers over the kanji drawn in pen on his other hand and pointed to himself. And as a volley of explosions ate up Emil's body, Leon's eyes filled with tears as his enemies stared and asked him what he had done.

He just threw his catalyst to the ground and asked them to kill him too, because he refused to live any longer with such precious blood on his hands.

Truly, he did his best, but still he wouldn't arrive at the station to meet him.)

* * *

 _ **AN- This was a cut scene from Italy's Parallel Chapter, hence the weird name stuff. Supposed to be one of his sub-visions, but it ended up being too much of a deviation from the plotline and style of that chapter, not to mention it would have made Italy's chapter too much about Iceland. I really like this, though, and I wanted to include it one way or another, so think of it as a bonus feature.**_

 _ **So as for where today's real update is… Ah, well, truth is it's giving me a lot of trouble, but that's not the main point. Look, I don't feel like this "weekly update" thing is giving higher quality chapters, and honestly, I hate how slow this story's been moving lately. So, I think I'm gonna just start posting "whenever I feel like it", but I'll try my very best to keep it more frequent than once a week, meaning this is a good thing. I just think not having a schedule would work a lot better for me, as I wouldn't feel bad if I skip an update and I wouldn't feel stressed by the schedule and I wouldn't feel like the schedule doesn't motivate me to post as much. Plus, I feel chapters kind of suck if I'm forcing myself to write them, so it would be better for your guys too if I don't do that. Also you'll probably get less "filler" chapters like this.**_

 _ **Expect the real chapter tomorrow-ish. And thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	47. Wings of Time

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty Three- Wings of Time_

On paper, Gilbert's current predicament sounded pretty sweet. On an unplanned road trip with his super awesome friends Toni and Mattie (and also a few insufferable others, plus Gilbird because someone refused to keep her) that sounded like good fun. Going to meet up with his little brother and his friends, that was also fun. Going to break into a secret base or something by using awesome magic stuff sounded like a blast.

Of course, that description left out the meat of the events. Antonio was busy trying to make sure Lovino didn't die, Matthew hadn't said a word to him in hours and looked like he was about to explode from nerves and stress. His little brother and his friends did not mean Feli and Kiku, no, they were currently dying a terrible death slowly and being forced to be a traitorous asshole, respectively. And the secret-base-breaking had a very good chance of killing all of them.

Yes, all of them could be dead soon. That was a very real possibility that needed to be addressed. Really, he was half tempted to ask Antonio out loud if he had things in order as to who would take his place managing his restaurant, but that would be sort of insensitive. Especially when he was currently watching someone much closer to death than himself like a hawk and trying very hard to keep him from getting any more dead.

Lovino, he was easily the most likely to die. If it wasn't for the healing flame things that Feliks provided, it was entirely likely that he might have done so several times over already, given how shallow his breathing would become. Fortunately, or unfortunately, his death would likely coincide with his younger brother's, so there was no worry of who would care for Feliciano, and the two didn't have many living relations, so their deaths wouldn't be difficult to manage in a practical sense. As for in an emotional sense? Well, that hurdle he'd cross when it came.

He wasn't too sure about Feliks, but apparently he was a student as well as a convenience store worker, and he had family, so his death might be a bit harder to clean up after.

Clean. Up. After. Was that really how he was thinking of death? As a mess to deal with rather than a tragedy to mourn? God, he'd always become a bit more pragmatic when freaking out, but that was a bit much. But, well, he remembered that was what his grandfather had been like when his parents died, and he wasn't much better when Mr. Vargas got sick.

Hereditary trait, then? But that didn't make it much better that this was how he was thinking. That instead of being scared of dying he was simply trying to figure out if Ludwig would be able to continue living as normal and who would be best to entrust the care of Gilbird to. That he couldn't help but put statistics over emotions.

He really wished Matthew would let him drive, but he seemed to need to focus on something else even more than himself. It was half his family that had turned on him rather than a few friends, after all, and considering he hadn't said a word the entire time, it must have been eating him up.

Well, at very least, all the evaluation gave him something to dwell on other than that Francis, his best friend since elementary school was apparently actually actively trying to get them all killed. He felt a lot better calculating funeral costs in his head than letting it actually hurt.

And that was still terrible. But at very least, if he got too far into that rabbit hole, the little peeps coming from the cage he held between his legs would pull him back out. Even now, Gilbird was there for him above anyone else, and was still ridiculously cute enough to make him feel a little better about things. And even now, Fritz was still asleep because of course she was.

His lifeline, though, wasn't exactly everyone else's, judging from how Feliks was sort of complaining loudly every time Gilbird even breathed. And by sort of, he meant completely. And it was annoying, especially since he didn't even have the decency to look up from his phone and insult his precious bird child like a man.

Unfortunately, he seemed to be very bad at shutting up. Even when Gilbert told him to do so loudly. Only reason it didn't turn into a shouting match was because of the air of "seriously guys don't do this" Antonio exerted. Well, and he could kind of feel Lovi getting pissed off at them from beyond the grave or the dream world wherever his mind was at the moment. Even when he was most likely going to die, he was still very good at being angry.

Surprisingly though, not so much a tomato, because he would have been bright red had he been conscious and basically laying on Toni's shoulder. This lent fuel to the fire of "he's going to die" in his brain, which wasn't really welcome because that also meant Feli was going to die and the part of him that was more emotion than reason really didn't want that to happen. Well, he also didn't want Lovino to die, but Feliciano's wellbeing had a more direct effect upon Ludwig's wellbeing and- crap, he was back with the Spock Think.

Luckily, he arrived at a sentance he never thought he would have to think again: Thank you, car holding a person that is definitely shooting at us for distracting me from how messed up I feel right now.

Yes, that was definitely, without a doubt, what was happening. Well, except for the fact that this time it wasn't bullets coming after them, but weird streaks of light.

A small shriek came from Matthew, who sounded more alive than he had in several hours. "What is that?", he questioned shrilly.

"Well, this feels familiar," Antonio remarked with sideways smirk. "Shame we don't have Francis and his evasive driving skills."

Francis… well, maybe he was a traitor and an asshole, but Mattie was a good substitute, right? "Speed up, don't be afraid to go off road, and maybe honk a few times," Gilbert advised.

He only recieved a look that questioned if he was insane, but not for the reasons he would have assumed. "You can't be serious! There are other cars, and if this guy's magic, who knows who else is! Slowing down would be a better idea!"

Wow, that was actually sort of brilliant. Maybe he was just not thinking straight- okay, he never did anything straight, but still, that actually kind of impressed him. The sound of a window rolling down distracted him from this, though.

"What are you-?"

Feliks cut him off by producing what would best be described as a bolt of flame and hurled it at the car that was shooting at them.

"Fighting back," he replied with a sneer.

"And how do you plan to explain why you're firing at people who have your friend captured?", Matthew countered.

He kept shooting anyways, still managing to be texting someone with his other hand. "I'll just blame you all for forcing me to."

And just like that, Feliks officially became That Guy. And his least favorite person in the car currently, usurping Lovi's long held position. "Who's side are you on, anyways?", Gilbert questioned with a huff.

Weird gold things that might have been sheep started rushing past the car, and he was sure he felt one run into them. This seemed more pressing than an answer, and he started to debate whether or not making a sword and throwing it at them would be a good idea.

The Official Worst Person interrupted this thought process with, as much as he hated to admit it, a cool idea. "Hey Matthew, use your invisibility thing on the car! Maybe we'll confuse them for a few seconds and then we can veer off road and make them all wreck themselves trying to find us!"

"Yeah, that would be awesome!", Gilbert added. "Can you do that?"

Crap, he'd scared him, judging by the papery white his knuckles turned while gripping the wheel and swerving around more of the Sheep Spirits. "Um…"

White light filled the air momentarily, and it became way harder to focus on the fact that Matthew existed. "I- I'm trying!", he exclaimed. "But I… I don't know how to do this! I can't drive and magic at the same time!"

"Okay, let's not do that. Toni, you start shooting at them too. With the er, viney things," he ordered, and another white flash signaled that it was being followed. A ping from his phone distracted him from all that, though.

Ludwig had texted him with a kind of weird question: "You're getting close to us, right?"

Were they? He hadn't checked where they were in ages because of the shooting. So that was his response: "IDK, weird magic stuff shooting at us."

"I would assume so then," his brother texted back after a second. "Are the fire and plant attacks from your group?"

"Yeah."

"Fantastic. Whatever you're doing, it's working, so please keep doing it."

Wait, what? It was working? He looked up to see a rather lot more fire coming from Feliks's attacks than had been. Like, enough to have knocked the car shooting weird comet trails at them aside.

"Uh, nice work?", he quickly improvised. "Apparently we're close to the others, so just do that to all the cars that aren't theirs?"

If he felt a little confused by the sudden increase of power, it seemed he wasn't alone on this, since Feliks looked rather confused as well. "What was that?", he questioned. "I didn't do anything different, but it was like, way better?"

A much paler looking Matthew chuckled a bit. "Oh, maybe that's what I'm doing," he remarked. "I was trying to do the invisible thing, but it didn't work. Did I boost your power, then?"

Some weird light vine explosion thing came from Antonio's side. "Well, I don't see how I did that," his friend stated. "I guess it is you then."

Something sparked in Gilbert's mind. Their current weapons were fire, plants, and some sort of amplification? And they needed to take out a lot of enemies, it seemed, 'cause things were coming at them from all sides by now...

"Alright, idea:" Gilbert exclaimed, and he quickly texted his brother a brief command of "GET OFF THE ROAD WE'RE GONNA DO A THING".

"Well this sounds dangerous!", Toni said cheerily. "Let's hear it!"

"Okay, try to get your vine things as much around everything as you can, and Feliks, you light them on fire. With whatever Mattie's doing, it should work."

A sleepy mutter of "that sounds a bit dangerous" came from Matthew, but he didn't attempt to stop them. Instead, he added after a moment "hurry up and do it, this power thing's kind of hard to keep up".

Letting out a weird focus shout like he was about to launch an Anime Energy Beam, Toni sent out a ton of vine things, covering the view from almost every window. And they vanished in a burst of flame not a few seconds later.

For a second, he was pretty sure that hadn't been as good an idea as he thought it was. Then the flames sort of exploded. Or like, flared up weird? Either way, there was a loud noise and crimson flames enveloped the road and then like five seconds later it was gone and pretty much all the cars but one parked at the side of the road up ahead had been flipped over and their drivers all vanished in flashes of light.

"Well. That was… something." Feliks remarked.

Matthew looked like he was possibly going to fall asleep at the wheel, though. "Not… doing that again…" he muttered.

Amidst the carnage, they brought their car to a stop and started towards the other group, who also seemed to be getting out. Gilbert laughed a little as he noted how incredibly well it had all had worked and unlocked the birdcage. He wanted Gilbird to see how cool this looked.

Embers and ash were dancing in the wind melodramatically and charred marks crossed the ground. And it was freaking awesome.

Logical cries of "this could make whoever sees this call the cops and that would be bad" came from the back of his mind, but he laughed it off. Gilbird let out a few tweets and fluttered to his shoulder as he came closer to the- ah, four other people? His brother, some girl, some guy with glasses, and a little pipsqueak kid. So that left Alfred, and he started to try to remember his plan for if he specifically died before he noticed he was asleep in the passenger seat of their car.

Seemed Mattie noticed this too, as he muttered something to the effect of "is Al alright?" As he stumbled alongside him.

"He's fine," the girl assured them. "I think he just crashed, nothing to worry about."

"You said one of your friends was unwell," the glasses guy added. "How is he holding up?"

Antonio was the one to cast a nervous glance back at the car and give a strained laugh. "He- well, he's alive."

"And he's like, mumbling a lot, but that's about it," added Feliks. "Kinda creepy, really."

It seemed that Ludwig flinched a bit upon hearing this, and then proceeded to aggressively make eye contact with the ground. He didn't say a word, but his eyes said plenty. Or rather, they just repeated "not okay not okay not okay" over and over again.

Initiating Best Big Brother Mode seemed to be a good idea at this point, so Gilbert ran up to his brother and put his arm around him before he could protest. And he didn't protest. Ludwig just sort of stood there, and it was a little terrifying that he wasn't yelling at him to not patronize him or invade his personal space or whatever. Well, it was sort of a weird occasion, so that wasn't actually even that surprising.

Quickly, bring up something that isn't Feli, his mind told him, so he basically just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Did you see all that stuff we did? It was like, way cool, right?"

"You were being reckless," Ludwig stated flatly. "I haven't the faintest clue how you did whatever all that was, but it was incredibly dangerous and- you really brought the bird?"

Gilbird gave a few peeps to signal her presence and Gilbert couldn't help but laugh a little. His precious cutie pie really did know how to help, didn't she? "Well yeah!", he exclaimed. "Have I ever left them to suffer alone?"

Weird breathing came from his brother that kind of almost sounded like laughter. "No, and I suppose I should have seen this coming. At very least it wasn't a plane this time."

Memories of a certain family trip flooded back. "I thought you wanted me to be responsible!", he protested. "And I'm being responsible by making sure they don't starve or get lonely."

"That's one way to look at it," Ludwig muttered, finally pushing him away a bit. "Just assure that they don't get in the way."

"Now that's more like it! I was starting to think you were getting sick or something!", Gilbert teased as the coldness his little bro was known for returned in full force. "Now let's get out there and save your future husband!"

His brother quickly turned a shade of pink that signaled that he was probably going to be fine. "That- ah, that isn't, er, relevant..."

"You can't deny it now!", he countered. Wow, it was so much more fun teasing him about Feli when they were actually together. Or at least it would be if there wasn't that nagging in the back of his mind that pretty soon there would be no Feli to tease him about.

He probably would have come up with something more to say if a barely conscious Matthew hadn't politely come up to them and asked a hesitant question. "Um, that boy… why does he keep staring at me?"

"Sealand, you mean?", Ludwig questioned, pointing to the pipsqueak in a sailor suit. "Well, from what I've gathered, you two seem to have some history together."

Matthew looked confused until the kid looked over at them and gave an annoyed groan. "Darn it, we haven't met, have we?"

"Um, I don't think so?"

The kid basically grabbed Matthew's hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Well, my name's Sealand, but you can keep calling me Flying Mint Bunny if you'd rather!"

"Wait, you're the invisible rabbit?", Gilbert questioned. The kid didn't look particularly invisible. Or green for that matter. Maybe a bit Bunny-ish, but not really. "Well, Ludi, you were way off with your description!"

A bright flash of light, and the kid was replaced by something that was definitely a Flying Mint Bunny. "Here, this better?", he questioned with more sarcasm than something as tiny as him should be able to hold.

"Oh, I can see you now," Matthew remarked, and then yawned. "That's nice. Look, you don't mind if I take a nap in your car, do you? All the explody stuff took a lot out of me."

"That car belongs to your brother, does it not?", Ludwig corrected.

With a noise somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle, Matthew swung open the back door and basically flopped onto the back seat. "Great," he muttered, already sounding like he was halfway to dreamland. "He can't get mad at me. He owes me money."

Wow, Mattie was a riot when he was zapped. A very cute riot. Maybe he should just shut the door behind him and stop laughing so loudly. That would probably be nicer than keeping him from his sleep.

But the visible flying green rabbit had transformed back into a kid and was now staring at him- no, staring at Gilbird intensely.

"Um, you… you're Prussia, aren't you?", Sealand questioned.

"Russia? Nah, don't think so."

Ludwig gave him his Trademark Exasperated Little Bro look. "Prussia, not Russia."

"What's a Prussia?"

A look that clearly said "you don't know anything, do you?" fell upon him, and Ludi rattled off Prussia Facts. "Germanic country. Rather powerful at one point, but it was dissolved after World War Two. And yes, if you aren't Holy Rome, it would make sense for you to be Prussia. Might explain why your powers are so odd, being a country that no longer exists and all."

Prussia… Prussia… wow, that kind of sounded familiar. He could buy it being his name. "So I'm 'Prussia'? Sounds pretty awesome, but not as much as Gilbert! But, I mean, nothing could compare, really- wait, don't touch her!"

Sealand was still staring at his bird, who was seemingly staring back attentively. He then laughed and extended a finger to Gilbird, and despite him attempting to stop the poor kid, didn't seem to listen. Didn't really need it though, as Gilbird, shockingly, did not see it as an offering of food and try to eat it. She actually let him pet her, which was a complete miracle.

"Wow, it actually likes you," Ludwig remarked in deadpan amazement. "I didn't think that was possible."

He looked away from the bird and up at Gilbert. "How did you end up with her?", he questioned.

Weird question, but to be fair, it was also a weird answer. "Um, well, some girl who I guess lived around us came up to me and said she was moving away and looking for someone to take her bird in 'cause she couldn't bring her with her, and somehow she knew I thought birds were cool. Maybe she was in my class or something, but I still don't remember her name or anything about her. Kinda feel bad about it, 'cause Gil-gil is one of the best things to ever happen to me and I didn't get to thank her or anything."

"A girl gave her to you?" What, did that mean anything? 'Cause the kid sure seemed to think so. "Um, do you remember what she looked like?"

Vaguely, he could bring to mind a picture. "Uh, wanna say she had a ponytail and brown hair? Not a lot to go on, but that was like, really not recently."

Somehow, that seemed to be enough to get a reaction from the kid, who looked away and chuckled- or maybe sobbed, it was hard to tell- for a second before muttering something he couldn't quite hear.

"What was that?"

The kid looked up, now smiling brightly. "Prussia, back before you died, you had a bird, and after you died, Canada gave it to me to look after. I'd know her from anywhere, this has to be the same bird."

So many actually good questions could be asked from that. All Gilbert could come up with, however, was a flat "what?"

Gilbird tweeted a few times and fluttered over to the kid's shoulder. Yeah, she wouldn't act like that unless he was telling the truth.

"And, um, it's a long story, but my friend Wy was keeping it, but she died before I got the chance to see her again, so I never knew where the bird ended up," Sealand continued. "But, she must have been the girl to give it to you, right? I mean, you sort of described her."

"Maybe so…" Gilbert motioned to his precious little birdie to come back over to him, and a comfortable little weight reappeared on his head. There was something bittersweet in that theory. Because wow, Gilbird was loyal to him even after death and returned to him across space and time, confirming his theory that she was his very best friend. But the girl who gave her to him was dead? In that way, he kind of half hoped it wasn't true, 'cause he'd always hoped maybe someday he could thank her for that.

* * *

 _ **AN- Sorry that took a bit longer than a day. But A, this was long (like academy record long), and B, I finally updated that other story of mine. So, just be happy that you got Prussia and it didn't take a week. Also, Wy did a thing probably, and that's good because Wy is Win.**_

 _ **I must apologize for all the extraneous parallels and bonus chapters lately. But, those are just as much a part of the story as any other chapter, really. And I think I'll prove that with the next one. Not sure if it will be the next chapter or the one after that, but I think it'll be quite nice to see Japan again, don't you? Thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, the chapter name fits because Prussia has a bird on his flag and I'm naming the chapters after flags. Totally didn't blank on a color name. Totally didn't.**_


	48. P7- Seraphs and Storms

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter Seven- Seraphs and Storms_

Spiteful hisses still rang in Kiku's ears even after the light faded. Why… why couldn't Gilbert just trust that he had reasons for attacking? He surely knew perfectly well that most had no choice to be there, right? But as the almost familiar rust and scent of metal caught up with him, he could realized that it was practically true. He had betrayed them, and he was fully aware of that. Perhaps it hadn't been by choice initially, but he agreed to pursue "Spain", hadn't he?

Well, it was at Arthur's behest that he did so, and perhaps he was foolish to still trust him, but he was the best he had. Yao and Heracles had been hard to contact, stationed at different bases in a way he was half certain was intentional, but nonetheless needlessly cruel. The discomfort that came with his new position and life would have been lessened by his older brother being by his side to guide him, and he still felt there was a degree of unfinished business with Heracles.

But if it was to be Arthur that he looked to, he still had many questions. Such as what he had meant when he claimed to be "doing all he could to protect everyone", and how long it had been since he started playing the role of double agent. He had been promised something of an explanation if he were to assist in the awakening of Spain, so he was certain it was coming.

"Kiku, would you mind helping me with this?", Arthur questioned from behind him. Kiku jumped a bit; he hadn't realized he had returned yet.

He held up his hand as if to indicate what he meant was referring to help with. There appeared to be a large gash in it, with blood gushing down and dying his palm and wrist crimson. He couldn't help but wonder how he'd gotten cut like that. Had it been one of his water attacks that had missed? Yes, that had to be it, and the shadows in his chest drew a bit closer together.

"Of course! I am very sorry, I must have not been paying attention."

Grabbing his hand with his uninjured one, Arthur led him down the hall towards a some strange device in the wall. "Best not to risk getting these wet," he cheerfully stated, indicating the teleportation device on his wrist and letting go of his hand long enough to brush the device against the wall. It vanished almost at once, without any clear sign of what had happened.

Was he staring too much? Was that the root of Arthur's laughter? He brushed his own wrist against whatever was on the wall and tried not to look shocked as the device clanking against it vanished.

"There's a sink in here, and paper towels," Arthur stated, gesturing towards the restroom.

"But isn't there somewhere with a first aid kit?", Kiku countered. "That cut looks fairly deep, I don't think just washing it off…"

Arthur raised his injured hand once more. Odd, the cut seemed a bit shallower than he had remembered. "Oh, I think this will be plenty," he assured him, dashing forward a few steps to hold the door open for him.

Following his indication, Kiku quickly rushed to turn on the sink in perhaps the only restroom he had ever seen of poorer quality than the one at his school. The entire place gave off a dirtied aura, to the point that he feared mere exposure to the place might infect that cut.

But, as the door slammed shut, he saw Arthur go over to the sink only to turn it off. He raised the hand that moments ago had been dripping blood to reveal it as completely clean. "What, you didn't forget, did you? I told you we needed to talk, and this is the best place to do so."

Inner cries of "stupid, stupid" distracted Kiku from being able to determine why that was until Arthur spelled it out. "Not many places aren't monitored, and this restroom happens to be one of them. Might be why they skimp on maintenance, come to think of it."

"That… makes sense. So, what is it we need to talk about?"

"Well, first of all, I need to apologize to you," Arthur began, looking straight at him in a rather disconcerting way. "I… well, for one, I wasn't aware that mission would bring us in contact with your friend, and I am deeply sorry that you had to hear all of that."

Gilbert's words still reverberated yet, but Kiku couldn't allow that to be his grudge. "No, it's fine," he assured Arthur. "I only wish he could understand…"

"What, that you're trying to help?"

"Precisely."

Apparently, that hadn't been the correct answer, judging by the weird little huff of laughter his companion gave. "Well, good luck with that. I've learned from experience that it isn't easy to see the knife at your throat as something meant for your protection. Alfred certainly doesn't see it that way, and after tonight, I'm certain Matthew won't either."

"That must have been difficult for you as well," Kiku muttered. "Perhaps if I'd attacked before they entered-"

"No, don't think anything of it," Arthur interrupted, waving his most certainly not bleeding hand as if waving away the point. "Besides, I'm certain they'll come around."

Kiku was entirely uncertain of how to respond to that, so he was grateful when Arthur picked up another thought after the pained pause. "Anyways, I want to apologize for for deceiving you. If it means anything, I truly did enjoy fighting alongside you and acting as your mentor, as brief as it might have been."

"I understand," Kiku assured him. "Y-you couldn't allow them to harm Francis or use your brothers as hostages, right?"

A hesitant "eh…" came from Arthur before any proper words did. "Not... quite. Well, that was certainly a threat, yes, but I joined these people for, well, different reasons."

Yes, there was something terribly interesting at the very end of that statement, but Kiku was interested in something else. Actually, he'd been wanting to have an answer to something for quite some time now, and there seemed no better time to receive it. "These people, don't they have a name?"

His anticipated answer was a flat "no." However, perhaps Arthur noted his annoyance, as he followed it up with something of an explanation. "Giving us a name would give us a purpose, make us feel like we were more than puppets in a twisted stageplay. The 'leader', it wouldn't allow us that kindness, so we are a nameless evil instead."

"A nameless evil…" Kiku felt something resembling a grin. That made sense, but while he was at it, there were a few things he was curious about. "But, who is the 'leader' you keep talking about? Another Nation Scout?"

"No, not a Nation Scout," Arthur explained. "The 'leader', well, um… I've been told very little about the subject, but I'm under the impression that it is an entity not from this Earth."

Not from this Earth? No, that wasn't… that couldn't be, right? "Are you saying that aliens are doing this?"

Exasperation was his response. "Honestly, we're literally England and Japan. Is the fact that aliens are involved surprising?"

"I suppose not?" At very least, it made more sense than anyone he'd met so far being behind it. Even Russia or Turkey seemed to possess a shred of humanity, which the events transpiring sorely lacked. "But how can you be certain?"

He'd expected something along the lines of "just a hunch", so he was pleasantly surprised to be given a very reasonable explanation. "Simple; a lot of the tech we've been given to use, like those teleporters, they seem far beyond anything else I've ever heard of. I'm not going to pretend to be knowledgeable on machinery, but Tino's said that the construction of these doesn't line up with any piece of technology he's ever seen."

So that was why those teleporters worked. The explanation was seeming less outlandish the more he thought about it, and that was somewhat reassuring. It raised many more questions than he wanted to ask, though. "But what would aliens want with us? Are they meaning to use us as conduits to take over the planet?"

Arthur simply shrugged, ending the rather nice streak of answers. "Absolutely no clue, but if Doctor Who has taught me anything, it's that aliens rarely want to come to Earth for a picnic. We're assuming it's something to that effect, but we're unsure where the HRE and the purpose of recruiting all of us comes into play."

A thought occurred to Kiku, a lyric from a song he hadn't thought about in a year popping into his head. "Perhaps we're weapons pointed at the enemy? Or, ah, I mean..." He felt a bit embarrassed by the raised eyebrow this had elicited. God, he'd really just quoted RWBY at a time like this, hadn't he? "We- we could just be meant as a way for them to take over the planet, right?"

"Good thought, and that's most certainly a possibility, but it wouldn't explain why we keep getting killed off- ah!" The sound of footsteps echoed outside, and a heavy pounding made itself known in Kiku's chest.

Once it passed, Arthur chuckled and grabbed a few paper towels and started wrapping them around his hand, only to unwrap them and repeat the process in a different arrangement. "We've been in here a while. If we don't hurry a bit, we'll look suspicious."

He let out a deep breath, still not looking up from the towels. "I- I'll cut to the chase then: we- or at least a small sect of us, are working to take this operation down from the inside, and we want your assistance. This may sound like I'm asking a lot of you, but-"

A larger, more substantial smile came to Kiku's face. "Yes."

Arthur seemed oddly surprised by how readily he'd answered. "Y-you can't just agree like that!", he protested. This is incredibly dangerous, not to mention delicate. Don't you need to think this through a bit more? I mean, your-"

"No, I am certain," Kiku assured him. Whatever it was he was going to say, it would make no difference. "If I were to reject this offer, it would truly make me a traitor to my cause."

"What cause?", Arthur questioned. "Survival? Because this highly lowers your chances of such a thing, and it isn't exactly in the best interests of your friends, all things considered."

"My cause is the same as yours," Kiku stated. "I want to make the most of these powers I've been saddled with and use them to defend this planet."

A sigh, and Arthur looked up from his constant rewrapping of paper towels. "That's not my cause, Kiku. It may be yours, and if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's also my brother's, but my cause is simply to forget all of this ever happened, and if I wasn't in league with SERAPH, then I would be further from that goal."

The way he said that was almost reminiscent of the performance that had led to Kiku joining him. It seemed just as false, at very least. But whatever he meant, there was another question to be asked.

"Seraph?", he repeated. "Is that what your group is called?

"Y-yes," Arthur seemed to force out, dryly adding "and no, before you ask, I haven't a clue what it means. Probably an acronym for something, but it was made far before I became involved in this, and no one's told me if it stands for anything."

In all honesty, it sounded more like some sort of evil organization than anything, but perhaps that was a bit of the point. "So, who else is part of this SERAPH? I assume Francis-"

"Ah, yes, he's technically our leader." Arthur rolled his eyes as he said this. "Then again, Lukas and Tino were in it long before him, so I wouldn't exactly say he's the most qualified to be doing it. But, it was his past self that started this, so he's designated as the leader."

His past self? That sounded like a fascinating story, but a faint noise from outside the door told him that perhaps this wasn't the time to hear it. "I see… So, how exactly can I help with this?"

"For now? Nothing really," Arthur stated almost dismissively. " All that with Italy and letting them all chase my brother and the others around will buy us enough time to recruit more people to our side and then we'll be able to strike after that."

It seemed it was Kiku's turn to be frustrated by how foolish the other person sounded. "You need more time?", he questioned, hoping his annoyance didn't come out in his voice. "But haven't you been at this for a while? And with how everyone feels about this, it should be easy to sway them."

That annoyance faded away as it was answered with an equal note of bitterness. "We had much greater numbers at one point, I've heard, but something went wrong. The leader before Francis attempted to lead an attack and…" Arthur paused briefly to throw the paper towels he was holding away, tearing them up as he did so for dramatic effect. Seemed that flair for melodrama extended to more than acting. "Well, let's just say it ended poorly. Most everyone is weary of it now, and the only reason the four of us have managed to continue it is that we're being so secretive about it. Therefore, we'll need to wait until things get desperate and they feel as if we're the only option."

Kiku was very tempted to just shout "Objection!", but it seemed like it might have been a bad idea. Perhaps if he was talking to Ludwig or Feliciano, but not the closest thing he had to a mentor. Regardless, he still had an objection. "Well, I think I know a few people I could sway to our side without much trouble."

"If you mean your brother, then no. That wouldn't end well," Arthur countered.

He couldn't imagine that. Yao had said himself how much he disliked being a part of everything, so he would probably be more than happy to join. But, there was something of a weight behind Arthur's words, and he had to know why that was. "And why is that?"

A surprisingly simple answer, followed by something a lot less simple: "We've tried him. He refused the second he realized our operations led to the deaths of- ah well, they're your cousins too, aren't they?"

Breath caught in his throat as he remembered with a pang that this entire thing had cut short lives that had once been deeply intertwined with his own. Mei had always been painfully sweet, and Yong Soo annoying, but still his cousin. And Li Xiao, or Leon as he'd prefered, he hadn't known too well, but he did remember him being a nice person.

His reminiscing was cut short by Arthur's strained laugh. "See, told you there was reason to hesitate!", he exclaimed, almost victoriously. "Yong Soo and Mei died directly in our service, and if we had intervened, it's quite possible we could have prevented Leon's death. I can understand if that's unforgivable and-"

"Most certainly not," Kiku countered. "If anything, it makes me more certain that this cause is just. If they deemed it worthy of dying for, then I am more than happy to follow in their footsteps."

"Thank you," Arthur glanced at the door once more. "Well, we've been in here a bit long, haven't we? I can tell you more later, alright?"

Kiku wanted to know more, but he understood. There would be time for this all later. "Yes. That's fine."

In a slight whisper, Arthur commanded "Follow my lead, alright?", and pushed the door open with his hand. Said hand now appeared to be covered in paper towels, with slight pools of blood leaking through. A gruesome sight, even if it was illusionary.

"God, that took forever!", Arthur said rather loudly. "These towels are too flimsy to absorb that much blood."

"Ah, yes!", Kiku quickly agreed.

"Well, like you said, Heracles is probably curious as to how things went. I won't keep you much longer. Thank you for your help."

Arthur gave him an odd wink before heading off down the hallway. Heracles… that could only be a go ahead to recruit him to SERAPH.

"Gladly. Tell me if you need anything else for that, alright?", he called after him.

Turning around briefly, Arthur gave a nod. "Yes, of course."

* * *

 _ **AN- Well, there. See, there was a reason the organization didn't have a name. And er, aliens… Look, I genuinely couldn't see anyone from the proper Hetalia cast as a villain, alright? They're all just such lovely people! So, I'll tear another page from HetaOni's book.**_

 _ **But, enough of that, as I have an odd request for you lovely people. See, I'm kind of struggling getting the finer points of this final stretch of story down, and I want to have someone to bounce ideas off of and run my current plans past. So, if anyone is willing to have a huge amount of this story spoiled for them and help me work out ideas, let me know and we can chat. So, thank you for reading! -Twilight Jolitk**_


	49. Blazing Impulse

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty Four- Blazing Impulse_

Everyone, it seems, was growing hopelessly restless. Or at least, everyone in Alfred's car; Ludwig couldn't speak for the rest of the group that'd "borrowed" Gilbert's.

Once more, almost without thinking, Ludwig asked the designated navigator how far they were, trying not to feel like a whining child with the question.

Matthew's response didn't help with that. "Well, unlike the last fifty times you asked, I can say with some confidence that we're getting pretty close!", he confirmed.

"Oh?" Those words filled him with a vague dread. And a vague hope, but that was fainter. He'd been going over and over what they could do for so long, but the fact remained that if they faltered even the slightest bit, Feliciano and Lovino would both die.

"We should get the plan straight, right?", Alfred questioned, stealing the words Ludwig's nerves blocked from him.

Taking a deep breath, Ludwig pulled out the notebook he'd scribbled down a few ideas in. "Well, I have some-"

"So here's the plan!", Alfred exclaimed loudly.

Ludwig sighed a bit. "Did we agree to let you make the plans?"

He paused for a moment, like he needed time to think it over. "Well, no, but I have one."

"This should be good," Gilbert muttered, but for the life of him, Ludwig couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or not. He truly hoped it was, though, because if not, then he could be certain he'd truly lost it.

"Okay, so you know how craptasticly not well us splitting up worked last time?", he started. "Well, I'm thinking we don't do that."

Silence followed. "Is that all?", Matthew finally questioned, and Alfred gave a nod.

"Yes, spectacular plan," Ludwig muttered. "What else is involved, breathing in and out?"

"Actually, that's kind of a terrible plan," Gilbert countered.

Terrible? But if anything, it was the smartest thing Alfred had said all day! "How so?", he questioned.

"Look, we don't know how big that place is gonna be, and we only have so much time to get Feli out before we get caught," Gilbert explained. "So, if we all move together, that reduces the odds of us finding him and getting out unscathed."

In all honesty, Ludwig was considering telling his brother that he had a valid point. Wryly, he wondered when the last time that happened was. Or, at least he did until he remembered the last two valid points he'd made had been the suggestion Francis was involved and the suggestion that he and Feliciano might have a chance together.

So perhaps he should swallow his pride once more. "You have a point, I suppose," he muttered.

"Well, yeah but if we go alone, then we won't have any way to call for backup if we get caught!", America protested. "And even if we do find Ita- er, Feli alone, then we're still doomed 'cause chances are they'll be guards."

"Not to mention that if he's half dead, it's likely we'll have to carry him out," Matthew added. "If we do that, we won't be able to get out as fast or fight back as easily."

Wow, it seemed for once everyone was being perfectly reasonable and intelligent about this! There wasn't even much more that he'd thought of himself! If it wasn't for the circumstances, he'd be ecstatic. "Perhaps we break up into a few smaller groups, then?", Ludwig suggested. "That way, we'll have both mobility and support."

"Yeah, that's a good idea…" Alfred muttered as if distracted by something. "But like, how big are we talking?"

"We- we can discuss with the others when we get there," Ludwig directed.

Thankfully, as indicated by a few emoticon-ridden texts sent by Antonio, that seemed to be very close now, so Ludwig bit his tongue and silently prayed that he could not screw this single thing in his life up until they finally stopped at a place that seemed to be an abandoned, graffiti-ridden building.

"So much cooler than the random thing in the woods," Alfred muttered as they got out.

Matthew glanced down at his phone once more. "Feliks sent me an article about it. Seems this place was called the 'Monade Building'," he reported. "It was supposed to be some sort of office complex, but construction was abandoned. Now it's one of those places teenagers tell their friends are haunted and dare each other to spend the night in."

"Seems a bit public for a secret base, doesn't it?", a low mutter questioned, which upon turning around appeared to be Berwald.

"But that's what makes it perfect!", Feliks countered enthusiastically. "'Cause stupid kids think it's haunted, no one would actually believe all the crap that goes on in there!"

To be fair, that had a certain kind of perverse logic behind it. "No matter, we need to go over our plan," Ludwig directed. "We decided it would be best to split into smaller groups."

Sealand counted off on his fingers before nodding. "There's nine of us, but one of us would probably need to stay behind."

"And why is that?"

"Well, you can't really just leave a comatose superpowered whatever we are alone without any way to defend himself," Antonio explained, pointing at the car where Lovino was undoubtedly "asleep" in the back. "I can stay with him, if that works."

Gilbert sort of chuckled at this and muttered "I was kind of hoping for Feliks…" under his breath.

"I heard that!", Feliks protested. "And besides, I like, totally need to keep an eye out for Toris in there!"

Alfred assumed an odd grin and then exclaimed "Let's go teams of four then! Me, Gil, Mattie, and Ludi can be a team!"

Ludwig sighed at this. "For one, don't call me that."

"Aw, but everyone else calls you Ludi!", he protested.

"Yes, with 'everyone else' being my older brother and two people I've been friends with for several years," Ludwig countered. "And another thing, why that team specifically? Our powers don't have much synergy to speak of and-"

"Simple: our initials would make us Team GLAM!", Alfred explained. "And that's the best team name I could come up with other than Team FLAP, so we're going with that."

Wow, and just when he thought Alfred might have grown a brain. "So that makes us Team, er, BEFS?", Sealand questioned.

"I was thinking Team BEFP, but that works too!"

Erika gave a mutter of "Wow, my fate's been decided on what initial combination sounds best…", but other than that, no one really dissented.

"Well, I can think of worse ways to decide," Gilbert conceided. "So, Team GLAM, do we just go in, or…"

Sealand looked around for a moment and then transformed into his Flying Mint Bunny form. "There should be a switch somewhere!", he reported. "I'll go look!"

A few moments later, a great click pierced the air as a panel in the ground seemed to open up and reveal a staircase. "Wow, no ladder this time?", Alfred said rather softly before adding in a borderline cheer "This day just keeps getting better and better!"

Without another word, they all started down, and flashes of light signaled each person's transformation. This base seemed distinctly less cold than the prior one, with light fixtures along the stairwell and then along the hallway it eventually gave way to. With grey walls and tiled floors, it seemed distinctly more like a building than the other underground base.

But, like the other one, there soon came a fork in the hall, with it ending in two paths going opposite directions. This is where they parted, and they did so with only the briefest exchange.

"Be careful."

"Take care."

And the now four of them continued until a door made them falter. Voices were coming from behind the door. Vaguely familiar, vaguely infuriating ones. None of their words could be distinguished, but Ludwig was half-certain of who they belonged to.

Alfred pressed an ear against the door, and as an obnoxious laugh came from it, his face fell as if to confirm his suspicions. "That- that's Arthur and Francis!", he quietly exclaimed.

The idiot jiggled the doorknob for a moment, only to chuckle. "It's unlocked!", he whispered in a singsongy voice.

"We… need to talk to them, right?", Matthew suddenly declared. "This might be our best shot at figuring out why they're doing this!"

That was logical, that was a priority, but there was something else that was more pressing at hand. Still, judging by the broken-up looks the twins bore, there wouldn't be any stopping them, and he wouldn't try to halt Gilbert from getting an explanation from his best friend either. "I'm going ahead, then. I wish you luck with that."

He turned and started along, not thinking of why this was rash and foolish until his brother called out in a stage whisper. "Come on, Ludi, that's not funny! And besides, you said it yourself, you won't be any help to him on your own."

Turning back around, Ludwig considered it for a moment. He wanted to force Arthur to say why he'd betrayed them and especially make him pay or at least apologize for leading Kiku and Feliciano astray. And yes, there was a chance they might be able to tell them where they were, but no, he knew he wouldn't be able to remain calm. "Yes, but I would hurt your chances of getting anything out of them," he finally stated. "If you get anything that would help us save Feliciano or anyone else, send me and the other group text and we'll see what we can do with it."

"Actually, send it to me," Gilbert countered, turning towards Ludwig. "And make sure to tell Bonnefoy how much he sucks for me, alright?"

Guilt and relief filled Ludwig in equal measure. He wanted to apologize, but all that would come out was a faint "...thanks."

"We'll get what we can, Gil!", Alfred exclaimed, and his brother added "Just be careful, alright?"

The morbid streak Gilbert assumed when under stress seemed to be showing, as he started rattling off rather unnerving but practical instructions. "Look, I'm gonna be honest here: there is a very good chance that one of us will die. I'm doubting it will be either of you, unless Francis is a lot further gone than we think, but if either you or your brother do, don't try to take the body. It'll just slow down your escape, and don't hesitate to escape. Antonio is in the car, so you'll be safe there."

Matthew took a few steps closer to Gilbert and took a deep breath as if he was going to say something. "Gilbert, I-"

He was cut off by another quick burst of directions. "And if I die, someone will have to make sure Ludwig is taken care of, given he survives. We don't have any living relations, and I have to admit, I'm not entirely certain how it works, but he'll be eighteen in a year or so and-"

"Gilbert, please." Matthew attempted to start whatever he was going to say again, but was once more cut off.

"The kid will probably take care of my birds, but make sure he does. Oh, and don't feel like you need to bother with a funeral, but if you have to, I like tulips and those blue flowers with a bunch of petals."

"Gilbert!"

"Yeah, guess that doesn't matter. And if Ludwig dies too, make-"

His directions were cut off by a sudden motion from Matthew's end. For a second, Ludwig was sure he'd headbutted Gilbert or something, but upon closer inspection, it was something a lot less… violent. Rather, it seemed Matthew had silenced his words with a kiss.

When they broke, it left the two with oddly reversed expression. While Matthew now looked deadly determined, Gilbert was blushing and stammering. "You listen to me! None of us are going to die, got it?"

That determination faltered as Gilbert nodded and continued to stutter out chains of nonsense, and Matthew turned as red as him. "Oh god, I- I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over me. I just panicked and-"

"No, i-i-i-it's good," Gilbert assured him, looking just about as confused as he had in that affair with Roderich years ago. "I- um, well, just didn't expect that… N-not that I didn't like it!"

"What, really?"

Gilbert laughed and then swallowed hard. "Yeah, totally! I just, well, uh, why me?"

Matthew cast a darting glance at the floor for a moment before looking back at Gilbert, the franticness of his apology all but gone and replaced with a calm smile. "Honestly, what I've been trying to say is, well, that you're important to me in a way I can't begin to explain. We've haven't known each other long, and I doubt these feelings are anything more than a result of this panic I've been feeling, but I truly appreciate all the kindness you've given me in spite of the circumstances. And I can't stand to hear you talking like that, because as selfish as it may be, I don't want to go through this without you."

The odd look that flashed in his brother's eyes was something Ludwig recognized vaguely. It had flitted into Feliciano's gaze when he'd kissed him in the forest. "Well, I'm not about to make you, Mattie!", Gilbert proclaimed. "Now you get in there and talk some sense into Francy Pants and Asshole Eyebrows, got it?"

"And you go save your friend from certain death, alright?", Matthew replied with a wink.

After a few more rather painful seconds of staring at each other, Gilbert finally turned back around to Ludwig and began walking in the same direction. "Yeah, let's do this, alright?"

Ludwig began to walk beside him, and would have ignored the odd giggles coming from his brother had they not been so detrimental to the task at hand. "Please remember we're trying to be stealthy," he muttered after a moment too long of this.

"What, you were like this all day after you asked Feli out," Gilbert countered. "Can't I be happy too?"

The swell of emotion he'd felt what felt like ages ago replayed in his mind. A numb feeling he'd cast upon himself fell away and a rush of adrenaline took its place. The one he was fighting for was close enough to touch, and whatever stood in his way, he would cut it down.

"We need to hurry," Ludwig muttered, and something about that seemed to silence his brother, who simply gave a nod and drew his blade.

* * *

 _ **AN- Good news! No more Parallel Chapters for a while! No, we're just going to finally get down to Operation Save Italy Before He Dies A Terrible Death. Also, if anyone gets why I named the building what I did, huge kudos to you because I am actually lowkey proud of that joke and really hope it won't be lost on everyone. Oh, and PruCan. That totally happened. Sorry, all two of you who told me not to PruCan, but I like the pairing and if the fourteen reviews on the chapter I asked about it are anything to go by, so do most of you.**_

 _ **Also, I was flattered and astonished and a ton of other name of Pokemon moves by how many people offered to help me with plot ideas! I went with A Broken Imagi-NATION, and I am immensely grateful for their help (and will be repaying them with a Poketalia oneshot), but huge thanks to everyone else who offered as well. I'm a lot happier with where this is going now, and I truly hope the rest of you will like/despise me for where it's going. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, I think I'm officially out of color chapter names.**_


	50. Red Penned Decree

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty Five- Red Penned Decree_

Matthew wasn't sure if he completely hated himself or if he'd never been more proud. Maybe both. Probably both. God, his heart was beating out of his chest and he'd sort of said yes but why had he done that? Really, he hadn't been entirely certain that was how he felt about Gilbert until that very moment and now he was just going to be distracted and holy crap what was wrong with him?

"Uh, Mattie?" Alfred tapped him on the shoulder. "You know you need to breathe to not die, right? Like, in and out?"

Taking a deep, gasping breath, Matthew tried to clear his head a bit. The kiss scene was etched into his mind, but a strange noise came from behind the door and dragged up another pool of dread all together. Arthur. Francis. Talking to them. Now.

"Y-you ready?", he asked his brother, and with a nod, he shakily placed his hand on the door knob. He was grateful beyond words that his twin put his hand there as well and they turned it together.

Opening it, Matthew bit the inside of his lip as he saw Francis for the first time in months. However, he didn't seem aggressive or even surprised to see him. Rather he holding some battered old book and beaming while looking at the door like he'd been waiting for them.

Well, at least that wasn't as surprising as the fact that Francis rushed up to hug him and was halfway suffocating Matthew before he could even react.

"Matthew, mon cheri, I am so proud of you!", Francis exclaimed as he released the bone-crushing hug.

"Proud of me?" About what, how he had apparently made a contract and become a magical girl? Or how he was confronting Francis about his life choices?

Francis was beaming, which was especially odd combined with his answer. "You and Gilbert; I had a hunch, but I never thought you would be so bold! I've really taught you well, haven't I?"

It took a second for all that to register, but when it did, Matthew was pretty much just aware that his cheeks were burning and that Francis had just actually said that. All that would come out of his mouth were noises like a boiling kettle, so he was very grateful that Al picked up the slack a bit.

"Wait, that like just happened! How did you know about-?"

"You weren't exactly being quiet," Arthur explained, seeming far less pleased to see them than Francis. "And it wasn't as if we weren't expecting you."

With an odd chuckle, Francis added "In other words, we eavesdropped a bit, but to be fair, as your big brothers we have that right."

Something clicked inside Matthew over the burning red and the confusion. "You forfeited any right to call yourself my big brother when you betrayed us!", he roared. "We come here to ask you why you've decided to align yourselves with our enemies and this is the first thing you say? That you're happy I have a boyfriend? Well, if that's what you think then you can-"

"Calm down, Mattie," Alfred interjected. "We're supposed to talk to them and-"

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

Arthur gave a small chuckle that devolved into hysterical laughter quickly. "My, how the tables have turned!", he declared. "Never thought I'd see the day Alfred was the reasonable one and Matthew the angered."

Something deep down made Matthew want to apologize. But, no, he couldn't do that. "Oh, I'm being unreasonable?", he countered. "Says the one who tried to kill my friends!"

"Oh, you mean with Kiku?", Arthur questioned. "Ah, well, I can guarantee we weren't meaning to kill you. We merely wanted to get a rise out of Spain so he would be able to access his powers. Just so happened you and the others were also there."

How could he be so casual about that? Like it barely mattered what he'd done? Now that he was seeing it for himself, those hopes that it was merely a misunderstanding fell away, leaving anger in its place.

"That doesn't matter! You made me think something terrible had happened to you and then dragged me into this nonsense and all just so you could set a trap and rub it in my face! I am done with this, England! I don't care what you have to say, just tell us where Feliciano is and I won't hurt you!"

As he cried this, he felt something materialize in his clenched fist. It was a weapon, he was sure of that, but he didn't bother to look and see what it was.

Well, at least not until Arthur and Francis snickered. Then he was perfectly happy to turn his head and realize the stick he was holding pretty much just looked like a hockey stick.

"Aw, you don't even get a cool weapon," Alfred complained. "I was hoping you'd at least get like, a gun or something."

Embarrassment started to set in. "I…"

"Look, it hardly matters what weapon you wield," Arthur stated, producing a sort of wand-looking thing from a burst of light. As Matthew stared at it, fighting back a giggle, his older brother smiled. "See, we both got screwed over a bit in that department."

Arthur's smile seemed perfectly genuine, and Matthew realized all at once that he couldn't ever hurt his older brother, no matter what he'd done. A small burst of light, and the strange weapon in his hands fell away.

"Ah, that's much better," Francis stated, smiling as well. "So, I'm sure you're wondering why we've summoned you here."

"Um, because we heard you talking and we came in here?", Alfred suggested with a slight chuckle.

Something between a scoff and a laugh came from Arthur. "What, you really think we would have been taking loud enough for you to hear in a room we knew you would pass eventually if we weren't trying to get you to come in here?"

"Oh, well…"

Francis glanced down at the book he was holding before offering it to him. "Truth be told, we wanted to tell you why we've been such terrible big brothers lately," he started. "I'd had a bit planned out, but I think this could explain it better than I ever could."

Alfred eagerly leaned over Matthew's shoulder as he opened the first page of the book. A few words stood out to him, but mostly dates and the such. It seemed, at first glance to be nothing more than a diary.

"Ah, just the bookmarked parts, please," Francis clarified. He assumed he meant the colored tabs sticking out of it, so Matthew flipped it to the first of the tabs.

"My dearest diary," it read. "I must tell you the most wonderful of events! Today, I was approached by…"

A few words seemed to be blacked out with very precise loops of black ink. It was impossible to make out what was underneath it but it continued. "...who said they could make us Nations mortal. Yes, truly! I must admit, this is an opportunity that I have desired for many centuries, but it was not my own selfish gain that spurred me to accept the offer. No, it is for everyone's sakes. On late nights, I've been able to get England to admit he wishes he could have died long ago, and I remember plenty of other instances. Italy wishing he could follow his beloved into the void, America learning mortality's curse in his youth, Canada panicking when he realized he was in love with one not long for this world, Sp(more scribbled-out loops). We all wish for this to end, and who am I to refuse the wishes of those I love?"

Once he finished, Matthew went back over the words to make sure he'd read it right. "This is…"

"Whoa, no way!", his twin exclaimed. "This is from the Original France, isn't it? Like, before you died and stuff?"

Francis nodded, and Matthew began to ask the question bubbling in his mind. "But… does this mean-?"

"Just keep reading," Arthur instructed.

The next bookmarked page read: "(another bout of scribbles), it seems their intention is to bring about our reincarnation. I suppose we must have thrown the idea around a few times before, Prussia and Austria especially, but I could never be certain it was even an option. They claim there is a way to destroy us completely, and that they have such a method. I must admit, I am a bit uneasy about having to aid in the "deaths" of my peers, but it doesn't appear there would be another way. I can only hope this works."

Next page: "It appears Russia has perished, and truthfully, I didn't peg him as the first to fall. But… it seems his death was meant to allow his sisters and the Baltics to escape. Such a selfless act, I never thought him capable of something like that. Ah, well, here's to hoping this will continue to bring out the best in us."

After that was: "The others, they've noted Russia and the others are nowhere to be seen, and they've grown suspicious. While this may complicate things, they don't suspect anything close to the truth, so I suppose this will go on uninterrupted."

Then: "I told (more scribbles) it was unwise to take the Nordics all out at once. I said that we needed to be slow and methodical, not rush things as to not alert them as to what was happening so they wouldn't protest. However, it seems someone found their blood on the walls and it spiraled out of control. It seems everyone's rather shaken by all of this and I fear that can only make things harder down the line."

"Well, things are going just swimmingly, really. China, alongside half his family got taken out and everyone had the fantastic idea of using this as a signal to hide. I mean, I know where most everyone will be; such is the advantage of making friends but truthfully, this only makes me feel worse about the situation. I hate to make my friends feel I am betraying them."

Alfred gave a half-hearted laugh as they flipped the page. "God, this is kinda dark. Is this what happened to us?"

A nod, and Alfred fell silent.

It really just got worse, though. "I don't think I can go on like this. I know that we'll be reborn, but I've aided in the deaths of far too many I loved dearly. Everyone will be happier as humans, but at what cost? England will be the next to fall, and I can't bear to see his death. Not after all we've been through. So, I'll allow (more scribbles). Please, I deserve far worse."

Matthew's breath caught in his throat as he read the next one. "He knows. Canada, he knows I am the traitor, that it's my fault everyone is dead. My child claims he forgives me, but truly, how could he ever? It was me who put the knife in the back of everyone he ever loved, after all. And he claims to understand why I did it, but if he does, then he only knows how dreadfully wrong I was."

His previous life had discovered his brother (or father? whatever he'd been to him, anyways) had betrayed them as well. And judging by what it said, only after America and England and everyone else had died. If anything, he was immensely grateful that he couldn't remember that.

The next entry seemed to be a dying request, and seeing it put a pit in the bottom of Canada's stomach. "Please, to whomever reads this next, do not allow their deaths to be for naught. Assure that loves wins out, assure that their next lives will not be spent as mere puppets to the whims of (scribbles). And please, I don't deserve any favors, but for the sake of those I loved, please try to undo my errors."

"Is that all?", Matthew questioned. It sounded like an end, yet there were further tabs sticking out in the diary.

"No, there's a bit more," Arthur explained.

Turning the page, Matthew was hit with a sudden change from black to red ink, but in similar handwriting. "To those reading this: please take France's words to heart. Fight for love and for freedom. Destroy this cursed place, tear it to the ground. I was so foolish before I found France's memoirs, but I see now. It is my very purpose to fulfill the wishes of the first owner of this journal, and with Lukas's help, I'm sure I'll be able to save everyone. Yes, Vladimir Popescu, the second life of the nation of Romania shall lead the way to a shining future where we will be free of burden and oppression alike."

There was a quick note in parenthesis at the bottom of the page. "(Also, I took the liberty of translating this from French to English, just so it will be easier to show people.)"

The next page was in the same red ink, still seeming to be by this Vladimir person. "I really think this SERAPH thing is going super well! Nor and Fin and I have finally gotten my precious little brother on our side! Along with Korea and Taiwan and Hong Kong, when we can catch them, we'll easily be able to save everyone. But, I still think that finding our true leader will be the only thing to save us. It was France that forged this path, and it's only fitting that it shall be France to end it."

Things were starting to come together, but Matthew realized with a jolt that the next colored tab was the last one. And sure enough, that joyous tone was all but gone from the final entry.

"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry everyone. Forgive me for leading you down this path. Korea and Taiwan are dead thanks to my actions, and though I managed to save what was precious to me, I still can't bear the thought of leading them astray again. I never should have tried to play the part of the hero. Nor, no, Lukas, if you find this, I want you to do me a favor: find France. He's the one that will be able to get us out of this mess"

There was a final note towards the end of the page. "With all my my heart, I wish for the path to love and freedom to be forged someday. And no matter what becomes of me, I will always…"

Furious scribbles covered what remained of the text, these in a blue pen. A few words were visible, namely "enamored" and "hope", but it seemed someone had come in later and tried to erase Vladimir's final words.

With an uneasy thud, Matthew closed the diary and handed it back to Francis. "After all of that, I have the story pretty much covered," he stated. "They scouted me some time later, and all but forced the role of leader on me. I still don't feel I'm right for the part, and truthfully, I feel Norway does more than I do, but I try to atone for the mistakes of my past life as best I can."

"And not too long after I gained my powers, Finland scouted me," Arthur added. "Said he'd call on me if they ever needed my help, and lo and behold, they did."

"Now wait just a minute!", Alfred exclaimed. "If you guys are supposed to be like, freedom fighters or whatever, why did you help trick us into this?"

Matthew had been thinking the same, and he suddenly felt a bit less certain of their pure intentions. "Yeah, shouldn't you have been trying to stop it?"

"Oh, well, to be honest, we needed you all to serve as a bit of a distraction!", Francis explained. "Trying to figure out the HRE thing, Iceland and Hong Kong; those all served to keep everyone else distracted while we worked out an insurrection, but once the rogues had been shot down and the HRE narrowed down to three suspects, we had to get creative. So, forgive us for that."

"Distractions, huh?" Alfred muttered the words, but followed them up with a much more cheerful "Well why didn't you say so? We could have set up the best distraction to have ever distracted!"

Arthur sighed a bit. "In hindsight, perhaps we could have tipped you off as to what we were planning, but the truth remains that we needed the Axis to play along, and after meeting them myself, I knew for certain there was no way they would ever be willing to do such a thing."

"Well, Japan was perfectly willing, but he just couldn't follow through with it," Francis wryly added. "But yes, as much as I adore you two, I know for certain that Alfred can't keep a secret and Matthew would crack the first time he saw dear Feliciano start crying."

Yeah, he was probably right. But, wait, what was that about Japan?

"Couldn't follow through with what?", he questioned.

His "big brothers" exchanged a few pained glances. Arthur briefly frowned, but it seemed his face almost glitched back to a neutral expression. "Well, truth be told, we told Kiku all about SERAPH as well," Arthur admitted. "And we got him to agree to help us."

"Regrettably, he didn't seem to understand that we needed a diversion and he attempted to destroy the machine Italy was being held in," Francis continued. "And the leader, as punishment, took him."

"T-took him?", Alfred repeated. "What d'ya mean?"

"I-" Arthur took a labored breath before continuing. "I mean he's as good as dead, Alfred. We did our best to warn him, but he seemed to think playing the hero was wiser than following a plan."

He sounded oddly bitter about it, as if he blamed Kiku for his own fate. Matthew would have been lying if he said that it really affected him, given he'd only talked to the guy twice, but Alfred's breaths began to grown shaky.

"K-Kiku's dead?", sputtered his twin in disbelief. "But I…"

Francis stepped in a bit too quickly. "That's not to say he'll die!", he exclaimed. "He's just been detained! Most likely he'll just be locked up for a few weeks as punishment and be let off!"

Alfred sighed in relief, but Matthew couldn't take those words at face value. It reminded him too strongly of things like "Oh, me and Artie are just going through a bit of a rough patch! Nothing to worry about!" or "He- he's probably just busy with friends or something! Artie's fine, totally fine!".

He didn't want to burst his brother's bubble though, so he quickly changed the subject. "G-glad we're all on the same page! Eh, anyways, we really sort of do need to get out of here quickly!", Matthew exclaimed. "Can you just tell us where Feliciano's being held so we can let Gil know be on our way?"

Both of them stared at him like he'd just said something unbelievable stupid. "Would you two just listen?", Arthur half yelled. "Italy's powers are the best diversion we have right now! With you lot here, we just need the rest of you to leave and you two to stay with us so we can plan the rest of this out! And we need to be quick since we probably don't have more than a few days before-"

Arthur suddenly covered his hands with his mouth, like he'd said more than he'd intended, but that motion glitched away once more leaving him looking oddly neutral with hands at his sides.

They could have asked "before what", but it was pretty obvious what he was about to say. "Before Feliciano dies?", Matthew finished.

"Well, hopefully we can get it done by then," Arthur muttered. "Trust me, I do hate to have to do this to him, but it's our best shot."

Francis cast an odd glance towards his partner. "Wasn't our goal to get the plan together before Feliciano dies?", he countered.

A pained chuckle. "Oh… Um, honestly, after what Kiku and Heracles saw, well, I kind of doubt there'll be anything left of him to save."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?", Alfred shouted.

The words echoed through the room for far too long. If it was any consolation, Francis looked as appalled as Matthew felt. Arthur seemed to be stumbling for words, but before any could come out, a loud clamor came from the door.

Turning, Matthew saw a man he recognized as being part of their team but couldn't remember the name of standing in the doorframe. "We need to go," the man muttered, and something odd glimmered in the air. A wireframe of sorts was forming between the twins and their older "brothers", rapidly being filled in with wood. Before it solidified, he could see Arthur looking as if he were about to cry and Francis simply waving goodbye.

"Hurry!", a more shrill voice added, and Matthew turned around and followed the man out of the door. They started running in the same direction Gilbert and Ludwig had gone, and he noted the two children running at their side as well. A quick scan told him that someone who should have been in their company was absent.

"Feliks, where's Feliks?", Matthew quickly questioned.

No one answered for a bit too long before the young girl gave a bitter huff. "Doesn't matter!"

Somehow, Matthew got the feeling it mattered a lot.

* * *

 _ **AN- Well, this was quite fun. Getting to write such a fiery side to Canada, getting to tell you all these lovely things… Oh, and Japan's maybe screwed. That's just great, isn't it? Ah, regardless, I'm very proud of how far this story is coming. Fifty chapters, and there are some things coming up I'm very excited about. So, thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, is RoNor a thing? Asking for a "friend".**_

(And no matter what becomes of me, I will always be enamored with that brilliant love and hope you hold in your heart, Lukas. I know it's there, so I beg of you, don't allow it to fester. Even if we can't save Emil, please, continue to be as brilliant as I know you are. Please, for me? And know that I'll love you, no matter where I end up. With all my heart and soul, and that's why I choose to fall. So I don't lead you down a path that robs you of all that makes you so amazing.)


	51. Crimson Wounds

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty Six- Crimson Wounds_

Normally, whenever Feliks would read about someone in a story reminiscing on the chain of events that had led them to a decision, it would be nice and poetic. Some decisive moment, some great clarity, and that would convince them of their morals. Maybe then his predicament fit his insanity, because that sounded like the exact opposite of what he was doing.

Because he could wholeheartedly say that he was about to stab his allies in the back because of the single most awkward text conversation he had ever had.

So yeah, he was grateful Eduard for having some weird magic that can hijack phones so they could talk about how Toris was definately certainly going to die a terrible death very soon and it was completely and totally his fault sort of. And especially grateful that he actually had to type "wow sorry he was a sweet kid :(" when being told of Raivis's death.

He held his phone close in the dark halls, glancing back at the directions buried beneath chains of pleading that went back and forth.

"Please won't you save Toris, your defecting sealed his fate and perhaps it can undo it."

"Please won't you turn against those people, it was my love's dying wish to be free once more."

"Please won't you stop deluding yourself, he was never your love, and he was never free."

"Please won't you stop talking in the past tense, there's still time, right?"

"Please won't you lead your party to this room and we can win back his life with an ambush."

Perhaps it hadn't been quite that nice sounding, and a lot of it was in lowercase and accompanied with emoticons. Shameful really that the dark blaze of glory was a delusion.

Yet there was still cause to repent. The three he was standing beside and desperately fighting to keep from seeing his phone, the two children and the terrifying man, they hadn't done anything wrong. Simply put, they just had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Glancing back, he counted the doors they'd passed once more to make certain he was going to the right one. One, two, three… yes, the one just a few paces in front of him was number four. Instructions: act as if you discover the door is unlocked and suggest they check in side.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Feliks slid up to the door and rattled the knob. It turned cleanly, and he gave the shout he'd been rehearsing in his head for quite some time. "Hey, over here! This door's like, unlocked!"

He shuttered a bit as the tall, terrifying guy glared at him. "Yes, as has the other doors we've passed by. Checking random doors will only get us killed faster."

Crap, Estonia had told him what to do if they wouldn't go in. Uh, what was it again? Point out they were there to find a thing? Yeah, that would work.

"Uh, if we don't check doors, we'll totally never find anything, right?"

"We're looking for a green glow," the guy explained. "If it's anything like Emil, then it should be incredibly clear once we've found it."

Okay, this wasn't working. Like, really wasn't working. Quickly, he tried to tap something out. "they aren't falling for it what do?", or something equally embarrassing to be a desperate call.

"One sec", said the phone, and a moment later, a loud scream of terror came from a door just past the one indicated by the plan.

All three of his companions- er, victims, which he had pretty decisively tried not to learn the names of, they turned towards the sound and looked between themselves and it for a moment.

"This… seems suspicious," the little boy remarked, sounding quite unlike a child.

"We should send someone in," the girl suggested, also sounding a lot older than she should have.

That seemed to be a good cue. He could just go in and beckon the others by lying and saying he'd found something. "I'll do it!", he quickly volunteered, but the older man just glared again.

"No, you will not," he stated rather matter-of-factly. "I'll be doing the investigating."

"But Papa!", the boy whined. "It's dangerous! I should go!"

Wow, that scary guy was his dad? The slight smile he gave as he assured the child that it would be fine confirmed this, and Poland started feeling infinitely worse about what he was doing.

He didn't know these people, what right did he have to harm them? He'd been almost happy when he realized he wouldn't have to betray Liz's friend and his former employee and Toris's friend, but no, at least then he'd know exactly what he was doing. But no, he hadn't signed up to harm a father and his child.

Nerve seemed to leave him, but he tried to conjure up the image that had led him there. A moment of profound happiness, finally at his dearest friend's side, after he'd trudged through Hell and finally broken free so he would never be alone again. And just when that warmth had returned, Toris's body went limp in a spray of crimson.

If he wanted to feel that joy again, there was a price to pay. All the time he'd stumbled about life telling himself that the one he'd given his heart hadn't vanished forever would be just another delusion if he didn't offer three souls as forfeit.

If he wanted Toris to feel anything ever again, there was a price to pay. And for a person with so much to give to the world, with more patience and kindness than he could comprehend, that would be a crying shame to be able to be given no more than suffering. He deserved to feel loved and safe and happy in his life, and none of that could happen without a life to give it to.

Was it selfishness or selflessness that led him to dart in after his target? He didn't dare question it, as he deeply feared it to be the former, and he deeply feared it to be the latter.

"Hey, wait!", he whispered rather loudly as he darted in the door. "You can't just go alone like that!"

That glare made him shiver and gave him the sense his treachery was being detected, but no, he had to remain strong. Luckily, it went away as the man's eyes fell on what was almost certainly Estonia's trap.

Namely, the blood-covered body in the middle of the room. He felt a bit sick upon seeing it before he recognized the "corpse". Blond hair, askew glasses: it looked like Eduard, despite a few unnerving differences he could once again easily brush away as having been caused by the passage of time.

It was confirmed by a mutter the man gave. "Estonia? What happened here…"

The two children dashed in behind them, both gaping at the corpse. "I-is he dead?", the girl stammered out.

His phone buzzed, and as he quickly checked it, he saw a new message from his partner: "Now".

Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the corpse and pretended to check the pulse. "He seems alright," he told them.

Wow, really great first step, but he was kind of improvising. His phone didn't go off again, so it was fairly likely that it'd been a fine response. "Whoever did this must be nearby," the boy reported. "The blood's not dry, so it had to have just happened."

Another buzz of his phone, and he didn't even need to check it. He knew what it was telling him to do.

Taking a few steps away from the "corpse", he positioned himself in front of the door before reaching to close it. He received a few odd looks for this, and he briefly considered prolonging it by just saying "Can't have anyone tampering with the crime scene" or something like that. But no, he needed to pay the toll now.

"Actually, he's perfectly fine," Poland corrected, and he only noticed then he was shaking a bit.

He swallowed back bile as he was met with apprehension. "What do you mean? There's blood everywhere!"

"We- we just needed a reason for you to come in here!", he assured them. "See, um, truth is this is an ambush."

Was that right? His phone didn't buzz, so he hadn't a clue.

"An ambush," the terrifying man who was a father and probably married and had a whole life ahead of him repeated. "And you're ambushing us?"

Only empty air would come out, so he just nodded instead.

Oddly, it was the girl, Erika, maybe- darn it he was trying not to remember names, who was the only one to react with anger rather than confusion.

"You- you wanted to help your friend, right? And he's being held captive like my brother! By these people, so why would you help them?"

It made so much sense when she said it, but he choked back those doubts. If he was going down this path, he needed to do it with his whole heart and not leave pieces of it in the light.

"They'll kill him if I don't," he explained, trying to steady his hand as he formed flames in it. "So, um, sorry."

There was an odd sense of deja vu in the scene, and he could almost picture himself in Erika's place and Toris in his own. He didn't want to do this, but he knew what giving up halfway would lead to.

He felt like a terrible person for sending crimson flames to hit a young girl in the chest, but a bit less so when she responded by pulling out a gun. "I don't want to be your enemy," she assured him far too kindly. "Feliks, please, there's surely another way to save your friend!"

That name hurt a bit to hear. Sounded a bit too human for his current mood. Why couldn't she just hate him and make her easier to attack?

But did he really ever have it in him? If he allowed himself to be cut down, would that be the right choice? Toris, a person infinitely better than he could ever hope to be, he had thought so.

It was too late to go back, though, as Estonia rose from whatever bloody mess he'd hidden himself in and produced a spear that looked more like a log that had gotten in a fight in a pencil sharpener than a weapon. "Thank you, Poland," he stated, smiling a bit as he wiped the blood off his glasses. "Let's finish this, shall we?"

He made to slam the blunt end of the weapon into the rather terrifying man, who responded with a staff of his own.

"You two didn't think this though, did you?," the man questioned. "The two of you are hardly enough to take on all three of us."

A door to the side of the room squealed open, and in a delicate, almost graceful manner that didn't fit the air of terror he exuded, Russia entered the room. "Oh, but we're fairly evenly matched, don't you think?", he countered with a grin.

The children's eyes widened as they saw the man, and both quickly rushed towards the door. Poland took a few steps back and positioned himself in front of it, trying to block them from exiting.

"Please, I'm giving you one last chance," stated the father, the man who scared him a lot less than his allies, someone with a name he vaguely remembered might start with a B. "I understand you have your reasons, but I can tell you first hand that your hostage would much rather you breath free and let them die."

Estonia's messages flashed up in his mind. "But, I'm not free either way," he muttered, and closed his eyes as he continued to stand before the doorway.

"I apologize for this," that same voice said, and a painful blow struck the side of his head and sent both his body and consciousness tumbling down.

* * *

 ** _AN- This chapter was kind of a nostalgia trip. Didn't mean for it to mirror Liet's parallel that much, but it fits pretty well. To be honest, I meant to show Estonia and Poland's conversation that led to his betrayal in full, but I figured out quickly that a serious conversation conducted over text is very painful to read, so I spared you. That's also why it's a bit shorter than normal, but if nothing else, at least you didn't have to read Poland texting like a highschool girl about death and plotting and morality. But I feel a bit bad about the length so I'll give you the only bit that wasn't completely terrible, cleaned up a bit._**

 _If you think you have any control in the situation_

 _They'll rip all of it away from you_

 _Until you may as well just be their puppet_

Who's making you say this?

 _You're asking that? Really?_

 _The puppetmaster doesn't need an identity, just strings._

I can totally kick this guy's ass for you!

 _It doesn't work like that._

 ** _Anyways, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**


	52. Sunlight Resolve

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty Seven- Sunlight Resolve_

A shadow moved in the corner of Ludwig's vision. There appeared to be someone stalking him and his brother, darting in and out of corners as quickly as he could blink.

It was far too quick to not be some sort of super speed. So it must have been someone they hadn't fought before, as that power wasn't one he recalled seeing. Fortunately, it also seemed a fairly easy power to counter, given his skillset.

Between the darting of the blur, he cast out wires. Two crossing between the walls in an X-shape, another two along the ground, and a few crossing in front of Gilbert and himself to prevent them from being targeted. Was this how spiders operated when first building a web? Because it seemed to catch his prey effectively.

That prey, before he could even get in a word, threw something at him before he could properly react. A piercing blow cut across his arm, leaving a thin streak of blood. Looking behind him, he saw a javelin had hit the floor behind where he stood.

Gilbert was already lunging at the enemy for this, but as Ludwig turned to see his attacker, he motioned for his brother to stop. Said "enemy" looked vaguely familiar, and his eyes had gone wide with shock over his own actions.

"I- sorry, did I hurt you?", he asked. A glance at the cut, and he let out a tired sigh. "Please forgive me. It seems I might have, er, panicked."

Ludwig took a step closer to the young man caught in between his strings. Yes, he was familiar; he'd seen photographs of him before and surely had met him at some point, but what gave it away was the cat-eared headband he was wearing.

"You, ah, you're Heracles, aren't you?"

His eyes widened a bit with the name calling, and slowly, he nodded. "Um, yes. You- oh! We go to the same school, don't we?"

"You could say that," Ludwig remarked. "But that isn't how I know of you. My friend Kiku has told me quite a lot about you."

"Oh, of course," Heracles muttered. "You're Ludwig, aren't you?" He nodded, and Heracles suddenly assumed a small smile. "Then, you'll help Kiku, won't you?"

With an annoyed huff, Gilbert muttered "Help him? He seemed fine to me." He got an elbow shoved into his shoulder for this.

"Of course, but first, we need to know where Feliciano is."

Heracles seemed a bit… startled by that? But surely he would have known they'd need to find him. Kiku had known something was off with Feli, so it stood to reason he would as well.

"Um, that, well, might not be a good idea," he muttered.

"I do not care what might stand in our way, I need to help him."

A frown, and then a sigh. "You- you don't understand. Kiku he…"

Something in the way his face fell said plenty. "What happened to him?", Ludwig quickly questioned.

"It- well, it's a long story," he muttered. "You don't have time for that…"

Long stories weren't a spectacular idea at the moment, true, but no, Kiku was his concern as well. "Keep it brief, then," he commanded.

Taking a deep breath, Heracles attempted to rattle off a tale at a breathless pace.

* * *

 _Truthfully, Heracles's involvement in the incident was somehow both minimal and great. On one hand, he bore witness to the entire affair, but on the other hand, it was Kiku who had done most of everything._

 _Kiku had been the one to pull him aside once he returned from attempting and failing to get Michelle LeGrande to reveal herself as a Nation Scout._

(Michelle LeGrande? Really?)

( _Oh, I guess you would know her…_ )

( **Know her? Kesesese, you could say that, yeah!** )

(She dated a friend of mine for a time.)

( **And you made her cry when she broke up with Feli!** )

(I did not make her cry. I just made it perfectly clear that she needed to assure Feliciano that none of it was his fault.)

( _Anyways…_ )

 _Kiku had told him about some things he'd learned from England, some things about a counterinsurgence rising within their order. Heracles was all for such a thing, so he gladly snapped up the opportunity to promise his assistance to this rebellion._

 _However, that conversation was cut short by another they heard passing the corner they had ducked into to discuss these plans._

 _"Ah, it's such a shame, really."_

 _"Oh? What's a shame?"_

 _"I was hoping the HRE would save us, but it looks like that machine isn't working."_

 _"Oh, that… that's not good."_

 _"You would know all about that, right Mol?"_

 _"Yeah. I kind of figured it would kill him, but really, I didn't know it would be that bad."_

 _Upon hearing that last part, Kiku's face fell in slow realization, and he pulled Heracles aside._

 _"Did you hear that?", he asked in a panic. "Feliciano, something bad's happening to him!"_

 _Heracles didn't say much besides an "oh" or a "yikes", because really, it wasn't his place to say much. To be blunt, his only relation to Feliciano was tangential._

( _N-no offence!_ )

(No, I understand.)

(But… the HRE? I thought that was my designation?)

( _Um, I guess it's something about Feliciano's visions?_ )

(I… see.)

 _And he didn't have much involvement as Kiku pulled him forward and continued to walk just in earshot of the two people they'd heard talking earlier._

 _"Hey, you're assigned to monitor the HRE today, right?"_

 _"Um, I guess so…"_

 _"Ah, well, Aus and I have to go chase down some group. It sounds a bit dangerous, in all honesty. I'd love to trade."_

 _"T-trade! We can't do that!"_

 _"Yeah, I know. It was hypothetical, really. I'll see you later, I suppose."_

 _The two arrived at a device Heracles recognized as the one that placed the teleporter things around one's wrist, and both brushed their wrists against it._

 _One of the two, the one who said he wanted the other's duty vanished in a bright flash, leaving a lone boy who looked rather young to be in such a place._

 _Kiku seemed to have formulated his plan of action at some point while the two in front of them were talking, as he simply transformed and gestured for Heracles to follow his lead._

 _Said lead was, apparently, tripping that boy with a small current of water. As he got up, the boy stared at the two of them and opened his mouth as if to cry for help, but that water attack reformed and caught his legs in place as Kiku stepped forward._

 _"So, we heard you have access to the HRE," he coldly and quietly stated. "If you would be so kind as to give us that transporter, we won't harm you."_

 _It was a bit disturbing, but Heracles couldn't protest. There was a sort of desperation in his eyes he wouldn't dare challenge._

( **Wait, Kiku attacked a little kid? Well, can't say I'd put it past him...** )

(To be fair, judging by what Mr. Oxenstierna said, our powers mess with our aging. It's likely he was far older than he appeared.)

( _That makes me feel a bit better._ )

 _Said boy nodded shakily and allowed the two of them to use the teleporter alongside him before running off, in the opposite direction of a green glow that stated quite clearly what was going on. In hindsight, that was a major tip off that it was a trap, but at the time, he didn't question it much. He genuinely wasn't too sure what was going on, just that Kiku was determined to do something._

 _Also that is was probably a good idea to softly assure Kiku that everything was fine as he laid eyes on a tank glowing with green fluid. Floating in it was a familiar looking person with a thousand wires inserted into his body and eyes glowing an unnatural red._

 _Kiku simply took a deep breath at the sight and strode forwards, towards the monitors hooked up to it. Much of it seemed to be in some sort of language or code that was entirely alien to them, but there was a portion of it that was in fairly plain English._

 _It read something to the effect of:_

 _Hall Night Single Figure ;rna_

 _:cold so cold and dark and warm please:_

 _Room Midday Three Figures ;cndusaeng_

 _:i cant i cant i cant i cant:_

 _Room Indeterminable Time Three Figures ;gmnitljpn_

 _:cant have to please i cant:_

 _Outside Evening Two Figures ;rmeitl_

 _:stop stop stop hold on hold on to something please:_

 _And Heracles didn't have the foggiest idea what any of that meant but Kiku seemed to figure it out pretty quickly._

 _"This is… a readout of his visions," he muttered. "But, what does all of this mean?"_

 _Another one of the arcane codes appeared on the screen._

 _Room Indeterminable Time Two or Three figures ;grcjpnitl_

 _:please please i cant please save me friend kjiakpuan:_

 _Kiku turned to the tank, to his near lifeless friend, and his eyes were caught by a monitor sitting next to it. It seemed to be a heartbeat monitor with other vital statistics listed next to it. Despite having little idea what the numbers were supposed to look like, Heracles was fairly certain they shouldn't be that low, or the spikes of the heartbeat so infrequent and weak._

 _"He's asking for help," Kiku muttered. Turning to him, eyes tinted the green of the room, he gave a simple command: "We need to break it."_

 _To indicate the intent, Kiku raised his sword and rushed towards the glass tank, smashing into it with the weapon._

 _It didn't do terribly much, nor did Heracles's strike with his javelin, but that, judging by what was next, was probably for the best._

 _Because after a few rounds of that, the child reappeared behind them, now wearing a headset._

 _"It's useless, what you're doing," the boy stated in an eerie monotone. "No… it's worse than useless. You're only going to kill him faster at this rate."_

 _Turning away from the tank so quickly that Heracles narrowly avoided a blow from his katana, Kiku looked at the boy and asked "How?"_

 _"If you don't shut the machine down properly, you'd kill him," he stated. "But, really I'm only telling you that because I pity such thoughtless people."_

 _Taking a deep breath, the boy added in a less monotone voice "I don't wanna hurt you, but the Leader says I have to say these things to you" he explained, motioning to his headset._

 _He snapped back to being creepy with his next words and pointed to Kiku. "Now, if I am correct, it was you who instigated this?"_

 _"Yes, but please," Kiku started, sounding oddly calm. "You wouldn't want to waste perfectly good life, would you? So if you would, shut down the machine so the HRE will not perish."_

 _"There are still some things we can squeeze out of him."_

 _The boy turned towards Heracles next. "Take this as a warning to not be so foolish again, and gladly tell your other friends what you saw here. It will not make a difference."_

 _Heracles did spring towards that boy, tried to stop him, but both him and Kiku had vanished into white light before he could do anything._

 _Shamefully, almost, he left. Those machines were nothing he would know how to work, and even if it was the cause of someone precious to him, the fact remained that he wasn't willing to gamble his life away for a person he barely knew. But, he still did a single thing for Kiku's sake. As soon as he could, he found England and told him what had happened, and was told very simply that Kiku had been detained and few who were ever returned._

* * *

"But…", Heracles finished. "You all, if you're saving everyone, can't you help him too?"

It took a moment for Ludwig to gather the words. So Kiku too was as good as dead? No, that couldn't be right, as much as the cold feeling going down his throat told him otherwise. And he'd fallen trying to protect Feliciano...

"Well yeah!", Gilbert affirmed in his place. "Course we'll help him!"

"We need to hurry, though," Ludwig added, finally retracting the threads that had kept the storyteller in place. "If Feliciano's as bad as you say, we'll need to save him at once."

A nod, but Heracles frowned a bit. "Truly, do you think that's safe? If it goes anything like our attempt, well, I can sincerely say I doubt they'd want you to throw your life away, not when it's so precious to them."

"They"; or Feliciano and Kiku, if they were there, would surely ask him to stop. Well, Feliciano would, but he could practically hear Kiku urging him forward. "If I failed, then you must succeed; protect him with your life, and then concern yourself with mine," maybe something like that.

"I must try," he affirmed. "So please, tell me where it is."

"Down this hall, to the left," Heracles directed, but had all but vanished before he could be questioned further.

Without another thought, Ludwig proceeded forwards. So what if this was a trap? The bait was one he was glad to abandon logic for.

But, it wasn't just his life at stake, so he turned to the footsteps following him. "Gilbert, you don't have to come with me."

"You're my little brother, of course I do."

He knew that, but he couldn't refrain from offering.

A familiar shade of green started to creep up as he rounded the corner, and distantly, he could see a room that looked very similar to the one he'd caught sight of just before being separated from Feliciano. And yes, he could see him again now, but instead of reassuring him, the sight made him sick.

It was as Heracles had described: Feliciano's body was stuffed full of wires and floating limply in some odd fluid. His heartbeat was faint and his vitals almost impossibly low.

But, as he entered the room, he felt something odd come over him. There was a simple task in front of him: shut off the machine. All those screens and panels had to hold the answer to the puzzle, and therefore, he would find it. It was the only option he had. The light of the sun would see Feliciano once more at any cost.

* * *

 _ **AN- Weird style, I know. I considered making this either a Parallel chapter or just a brief story from Greece, but, well, I didn't want Japan's downfall to be unseen. It would be an insult to a character I love very much to have his sacrifice brushed off, so I made sure it was executed on the page. Also I may have promised someone that I'd have Moldova make an appearance, so there's that. It ended up something like the first part of Sealand's story, and I think that's a fair compromise. So, next time… Hehehehe… Thanks for reading. -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, Greece's power was sort of a last minute swap. I wanted him to have lightning powers, but that was too similar to Finland's so I went with super speed instead. Because A, it's funny to contrast a slow-paced character with that power and B, he'd have cat-like reflexes. Sorry, but bad puns are sort of my thing. (see above) Also that was not meant as any sort of bashing towards Seychelles I swear. (see chapter 5's AN)**_


	53. Bloodshed

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty Eight- Bloodshed_

"Gilbert!", Ludwig quickly barked. "You know much more about computers than I do. So how would go about deactivating this?", he questioned, gesturing to the control panels that hummed with red and blue lights.

His brother looked over at it and let out a kind of disgusted-sounding noise. Something akin to an "ech". Bending down towards one of the screens, he grimaced. "What the hell is this?", he muttered. "Yeah, HTML experience isn't gonna do much here."

Feliciano hovered inert in whatever that liquid was. If it wasn't for the occasional gasping, he'd be easy to mistake for a corpse. But… how was he breathing? There didn't seem to be any oxygen supply apparent. It seemed unnaturally ominous, like it was preserving him to be dissected later.

Glancing over at the control panel, he tried to make sense of something for himself. Screens were covered in strange lines of symbols that didn't look like any language he recognizes, and the controls looked much more like a soundboard than a keyboard.

His brother had put it well: "ech". Granted, Ludwig didn't fancy himself an expert in computer engineering, but he knew enough about it to very clearly see that none of what was going on made sense. What was it even processing, his visions? But how? There didn't seem to be any sort of thing hooked up to Feli's brain aside from a few extra wires around the back of his neck.

"Oh wait!", Gilbert exclaimed. A small click resonated through the room, and some lights overhead turned on, banishing the eerie glowing of the greens and reds and blues.

"Congratulations," Ludwig muttered. "You turned on the lights."

A huff came from his older brother, who had taken a place over his shoulder at the panel he was examining. "I did something, at least," he protested.

"If you don't know what something does, don't do it," Ludwig countered. "With all of this, you could very easily end up accidentally killing him if you aren't careful."

Strained silence, then Gilbert shoved him out of the way. The blue of the screen made his eyes look almost violet as he scanned the odd symbols.

"Wait, this looks like…", he muttered under his breath, glancing down at the controls.

Some loud cracking noise obscured whatever he said next, and with the sudden ripple of motion in the air, Ludwig turned quickly. A figure was approaching him, the scarves seemingly emanating from her.

Ukraine, wasn't it? The one Feliciano had fought so long ago, the one they had fought with Arthur and Lovino… No, now was hardly the time for nostalgia. Her skills were very easy to counter with his wires, it would be almost too easy to-

"Agh! Get off!", Gilbert exclaimed, and Ludwig quickly realized where the scarf that had whizzed past him had ended up: coiled around his brother's wrist. Almost reflexively, Ludwig summoned his weapon and slashed through the fabric with the quick slice of an axe.

Their enemy seemed to realize something quickly, judging by her surprised expression. "Oh, right…", she muttered in a voice far too gentle sounding for a woman summoning a massive pitchfork. "We'll have to do this the old fashioned way, I suppose."

Was this a dual? It only took him a moment to realize fighting just with a weapon would be unwise for himself. Ukraine surely had many years of experience in such things, while he had about a month if he was being generous. So, he had to decline the offer with a few- well, more like a large amount of wires crossing the room, going between the two of them.

"Please, we won't harm you if you don't interfere," he assured her. "We're only trying to save a- a friend, surely you understand that."

As some odd clicks came from whatever Gilbert was fiddling with, Ukraine lowered her weapon with a smile. "Of course, dear. We're all only trying to protect people. And that's why we have to fight."

Something started rushing through the gaps in the wires. Bits of stone- no, it was too crumbly to be considered such- flew at him and burst into fragments upon contact. Sand… it was sand, and that jogged his memory a bit. Kiku had mentioned a sand wielder before, after Heracles had been taken.

"We're all in the same boat, kid," someone else exclaimed. A man in a white mask appeared behind Ukraine, brandishing a large, crooked sword. "Your friend's useless, but his life's buying some people a few more days of their own. Stupid people like you and that guy who tried to 'help' him the other day are just eating up everyone's time."

Kiku… he was calling Kiku stupid for trying to help. Before he could think better of himself, Ludwig allowed the wires to disintegrate and rushed towards the guy with the mask, swinging the axe towards his torso.

He jumped out of the way and laughed. "Oh, gonna fight back, are you? At least that's better than last time, that kid barely even-"

"Please stop," Ukraine requested softly. "It's rude to speak ill of the dead, you know?"

Gilbert looked up after hearing that and glowered like he was seriously considering driving his sword through her chest for that, but something flickering on the screen drew his attention back to it.

"As I said, I won't harm anyone if you don't try to stop us further," Ludwig repeated. "But if you speak another ill word of my friend, I will gladly cut you down."

"I'd like to see you try," the masked man sneered. "No matter what you are, it doesn't change the fact you don't know what you're do-"

His words were halted, blessedly, by Ludwig's next strike. A shining force, a blinding flame pulsed at his fingertips and a large, almost ore-like chunk of metal formed in the air. He pushed it towards the man, who fell to the floor and coughed before struggling back to his feet.

Well, struggling wasn't the right word. It was more like fighting to stand up, fighting against silver threads coiling around his hands and feet that Ludwig couldn't quite remember casting. "You… you're not half bad, I'll give you that," he muttered.

Ukraine didn't seem to make any move to help her comrade. Instead, she cast her attention towards the door, almost expectantly.

"Ha!", Gilbert let out a victorious shout. Ludwig glanced over to see a screen labeled in several different languages, with five blank spaces hovering above. "Notfall-Abschaltung" was the first chain of words he recognized the meaning of, but he wasn't sure how. His German was a bit more lacking than his position would lead one to believe, but he somehow recognized it before reading the English equivalent: "Emergency Shutdown".

"Oh, you're getting quite close, aren't you?" Another voice seemed to enter the room, and an arcane chill told Ludwig its owner before his eyes did. Russia was standing at the entrance, not smiling quite as much as normal but still unpleasantly cheerful for the circumstances.

Three against two- no, against one. Ludwig didn't love the odds, but his brief surge of panic vanished as someone else entered the room behind Russia. It was Yao, whose face lit up as soon as their eyes met.

"Let's end this quickly, shall we?", Russia suggested as he turned to Yao, who glanced around the room for a moment before chuckling.

In a fluid motion, Yao produced an axe near- no, exactly identical to Germany's in his hand and turned towards Russia. "It truly is a shame you lot are threatening my brother, aru," he sighed. "If you weren't, maybe it wouldn't come to this."

"Come to…" Russia looked a bit confused, even as Yao rushed past Ukraine and towards Ludwig, facing the enemies with a confident smirk.

Perhaps this wasn't surprising, Yao had said he'd try to help them all he could internally, but Ludwig hadn't exactly expected it to be so blatant. Was it what happened to Kiku making him think he had nothing to lose by being clear with his loyalties?

Russia simply laughed. "Oh, very funny. They'll execute him in the hour if you do this."

"He chose his cause," Yao replied calmly. "It doesn't make a difference to his life whether I turn or not now. Truthfully, I think he'd much rather me further his cause than hinder it to buy him a few extra breaths."

There were flickers of movement just past the doorway. A familiar blond man with glasses- Estonia, was it?- and someone else who was only barely peeking out but still managed to look rather painfully familiar, even just from silhouette.

The odd metal pipe weapon formed in Russia's hands and his cheery demeanor seemed to shatter. "Oh," he muttered sounding rather disappointed. "I was hoping we could get to be friends, but…"

Icicles formed in the air around him and started crashing into himself and Yao. They stung, but as more clicks came from whatever Gilbert was doing to the monitor, Ludwig tightened his grip on the axe. It felt more like a liquid in his grasp than it should, and changed into a sword. Odd, he hadn't seen its sword form properly before.

Yao's weapon had altered itself as well, but to a pitchfork not unlike Ukraine's. Scarves emanated from his body as well and formed a sort of barrier between themselves and the enemies. It blocked out much of the light as well, leaving the eerie green that tank emanated as the brightest light.

In the dark, something caught Ludwig's eye. A screen with actual english letters. Its read out was incomprehensible, but at very least in familiar words.

Some of them were familiar at least, but the others a garbled mess with some sensical but foreign looking words caught in the middle:

Room Ignoto Sei Figsone ;ldichnprbrsvukktuq

:passcode please non piu fallduta:

Camera Indeterminable Tempo Eight Figures ;abvpluesefel

:L oryh brx ehbrqg phdvxuh / L oryh zkr ehbrqg phdvxuh:

Romera Ignominavle Eiei Pergures ;abvsnschn

:Qhyhu duulylqj dw wkh vwdwlrq wkh wklug ri ilyh pduwbuv euhdnv wkh nhb zlwk dq lqyhuwhg phvvdjh:

Heracles had described something similar. Were these Feli's visions? And in even worse shape than he had said…

"We're close," he assured him with a light whisper, forcing his eyes to stay upon Feliciano's mangled body.

No response, but Gilbert shouted "Okay, anyone know the passcode, I'm out of ideas!"

"I don't- ah!"

Light poured once again through the room as the scarves were blasted apart by sand. The masked man had managed to snap out of the wires while Ludwig wasn't paying attention, and he quickly cursed himself for this.

Focus, or there won't be anyone to be focusing on instead, he told himself. Yao had started attacking with a flag not unlike Italy's and him and Ukraine were exchanging blows while Russia sent cold winds through the room, making concentrating even harder.

Ludwig rushed to Yao's side and sent metal needles into Ukraine's side, making her let out a small gasp and stumble a bit, allowing Yao to knock her back.

Russia's frown became more noticeable and he cast a quick glance towards the figures lurking at the door before turning to Ludwig.

"I don't feel bad at all about this," he assured him, a familiar flare of violet forming around him. "It's because of you that my sister's dead, after all."

His sister… well, the other one; not the one who had bound his arms together while he wasn't paying attention. Ludwig sound he could barely move and fought back the urge to scream as another set of scarves tripped him and forced him to the ground.

Gilbert cried out something and footsteps he could only assume were his clattered towards him, but it was stopped by a rush of sand. It was hard to hear anything anyone was saying over the pounding of blood in his ears. All he caught was the masked man's quick taunt "Didn't I say you were stupid? Now you're gonna end up even worse than your idiot friend!"

Was he… about to die? He could feel his power ebbing away with that strange aura, and the masked man was approaching as well with a blade getting uncomfortably close.

Ludwig forced himself not to close his eyes. He already felt sick, but no, he refused to meet death with cowardice. He couldn't see his brother, couldn't see Feliciano, couldn't even see the exit, but he could feel his heart pounding out to get at least an extra month's worth in in the moments he had left.

Would this kill him? No, surely he could take it. But, no, light was already flaking off his body and turning the green uniform into the shirt and jeans he'd had on for a few more days than he'd care to admit.

Feliciano… he would be safe. The others would find them soon enough, those numbers would be able to help. He shouldn't have insisted on going ahead of Alfred, shouldn't have let Heracles run off, shouldn't have agreed to split up.

But enough with regrets. He could feel a blade pressing against his skin and tried to quickly hold on to something. He was dying like Kiku would, he was dying for someone he truly loved, he was dying bravely, he was…

A voice broke through the beating of his heart. "Don't you dare!", Yao cried, and stumbled through the scarves into Russia's side. Knocking him over and away from Ludwig. Upon standing, Yao's weapon morphed to the sword that had vanished from Ludwig's hands a moment prior and silver needles pierced the air and cut through the scarves.

Uneasy breaths came from Ludwig's mouth. He was… alive. But when he tried to transform again, a burning flame passed through his body. No… not now…

If they could hold things off for long enough, the others would be able to reach them. He told himself this and tried to trudge through the sand towards his brother, tried to draw enough breath to tell him that he should fight while he tried to find the passcode, but his eyes were drawn instead to Yao as he let out a pained cry.

The same aura Russia had used against him was now forming waves around Yao, and a few wires he'd cast up faded into nothingness. The red and gold he wore was quickly turning to black.

Surrounded by a few recast scarves and shards of sandstone and the rush of cold wind, Yao glanced around and smiled oddly. Almost in resignation.

And all at once, things came crashing together. Flames and icicles and stones all rushed into his body and when they passed, left a bloodied figure collapsed on the floor.

Someone let out a panicked cry, but whoever it was seemed to be held back by Estonia.

The way everyone stared at Yao's body made it seem like it had been an accident. Like perhaps they'd gotten caught in the heat of the moment. Like the blood leaking onto the concrete floors and his shaky breaths weren't meant to be.

That didn't change the fact that someone that Ludwig now recognized as Feliks forced his way through the chaos and seemed to send some healing spell or something of the sort his way, only for the weak breaths to slow.

"Why do… you all… fight?" Words came out faint and breathless, but unmistakably from Yao. "Please… protect… him… for-"

It was strange how his body became a bit limper and his chest stopped fluttering all at once, but Ludwig felt more guilt than grief. Yao's death had been for his sake, to account for his misstep, in his place.

And it left every enemy in the room staring, letting out shaky breaths. Feliks ran off quickly, before Ludwig could even question why he was there. Russia seemed to be fighting back tears.

"Leave." The masked man stated it quickly and firmly. It was a command, an act of mercy, an act of remorse.

But he couldn't take that. "I need to-"

Estonia stumbled towards the monitor and clicked a few buttons. A simple numerical code filled the screen: 11037, and the blue light of the monitor turned green.

The tank of green fluid stopped glowing so brightly and a latch on its side seemed to open, spilling out the ooze onto the floor. The wires piercing Feliciano's skin quickly withdrew, leaving him to tumble out of the tank face-first.

Ludwig rushed to his side and noted his breaths: shallow, but existent. He was still completely out, but he was alive, and that was plenty.

"Please, go before anything worse happens," Ukraine instructed them. Ludwig attempted to pick Feliciano up, but in a combination of exhaustion and nearly slipping on the green liquid, couldn't quite attain it. Gilbert rushed to his side and quickly grabbed Feliciano and started out the exit as their enemies- no, that didn't feel right. They were letting them go, after all. Everyone else just looked on as the two of them left.

* * *

 ** _AN- If you hate me for letting China die, be grateful. I was considering offing Turkey here too, so you guys got off lighter than I intended. I won't apologize, though. Someone was going to die here no matter what, and though I toyed with it being Sweden, I decided on China. He was too cool to live, to be honest. But hey, Italy's safe, and by extension, so is Romano. That's something, right? So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik_**

 ** _PS, three letters back._**


	54. Drawing a Blank

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Thirty Nine- Drawing a Blank_

Sharp pains gradually faded away.

The icy, burning darkness left too.

All the screams that his throat forced out screeched to a halt.

Was it… over?

No, what was over? What had just happened?

The Devil's Machine has ceased functioning.

Stay in the haze, as it falls around. It is benign.

Voices rung in his ears. An endless stream of congratulations.

Images danced before his eyes like lights did after staring at something bright. A pool of blue water.

Vaguely, a familiar sensation enveloped him. A scent that made him think only of home and told him clearly he would be alright.

His eyes opened and that feeling remained. Everything was fine.

Ah, but where was he? Pale green walls arched around him from the center of a bed that seemed far tidier than it should, for some reason he couldn't quite place.

An eerie feeling came over him as he scanned the room. Everything was nicely in place, almost meticulously so. His first instinct had been that perhaps this room was his own, but no, he was sort of a mess.

But that room, he knew it was familiar, but where from? He wracked his brain for a specific identification.

Something stuck out. Fear and sadness. Mourning. He was laying on the bed in the same room, clutching a pillow. It was late, the window outside showed the stars and nothing else. Too late, his tiredness made his emotions cut deeper. And someone came to console him, sitting on the bed with him until he eventually fell asleep with his head in his lap and tears in his eyes.

That person, he stood out more than the room. Naturally, given how Very Very Important that person was.

So the room belonged to…

It felt like two voices answered it at once.

"Ludwig!"

"Germany!"

His head stung a bit. It was Ludwig, definitely Ludwig. But… it was Germany too. Both names sounded equally correct. Ludwig, though, that was a very human name and the room was also very human, even if it was inhumanly clean.

No, his head stung a lot, and so did the rest of his body. Little needles seemed to keep digging into them and it didn't help how disjointed his brain felt.

Looking around a bit more, he saw a doorway halfway open. It sort of suggested to him that maybe walking around would help, even if just a tiny bit.

Sitting up told him otherwise, with the black spots dancing in front of his eyes. Ah… no, go back to bed, but he'd already sat up. And he kind of wanted to ask Ludwig why he was in his room.

It got a little worse when he stood, and he nearly hit his head on the sloped ceiling, but something caught his eye and told him he was correct in getting up.

A small silver cross on a necklace chain shone on a desk beside his bed, and he felt a small gasp escape his mouth. He grabbed it, but stopped halfway through putting it on. Catalyst, the word rang in his mind. The light that pulsed in his chest came from this.

Turning towards the door, he took a few steps more before exiting the room and proceeding to nearly fall down a flight of stairs. Okay, that door led out to stairs, how had he not remembered that? Maybe he was a bit more out of it than he thought.

And at the foot of the stairs, he nearly tripped again, but to be fair, it wasn't entirely his fault that time. Someone was sitting there- no, sleeping there. Or he had been asleep, but woke up with a halfway cry after nearly being trampled.

He, the familiar and important person, Ludwig or Germany or whatever it was, looked up at him with bleary eyes before suddenly jolting to a far more awake position.

"You… you're awake…" The words came out more like a yawn, and with a slight smile that made him question what exactly had happened. A slight, breathy chuckle came with the words, just cementing the suspicion that something was very very wrong.

Trying to find the words for his question, all that came out was a simple "you okay?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?", he countered, losing all that grateful whatever he'd had before and simply looking distinctly worried.

Yep, that settled it. Something had happened. Something very bad. He was a little afraid to ask, but with a deep breath, he took a seat next to his friend (wrong word something told him, not strong enough) on the stairwell.

"I- I don't know," he admitted, and Ludwig gave him an odd look. "My head's all weird. Can't remember..."

A nod, like he'd expected something like this. "Well, considering what they did to you, that's understandable." He paused for a moment and placed his hand on top of his own, before looking away like the action embarrassed him. But the warmth and pressure was almost calming, robbed him of the growing panic that came with every second of being awake. "Do you remember the machine at all?"

"Machine?", he repeated. A green glow flashed through his mind, and he nodded slowly. "I remember it was scary," he clarified. "And, um…"

If perhaps he just took a second to put everything together, maybe it would come back. For some reason, he could only think of two people standing in a pool of water dyed an unnatural blue. And a voice guiding him through it.

"Feliciano?"

Without thinking, he looked over at Ludwig when he said this, but it took him a second to realize why. He'd called his name. His name was Feliciano.

Laughs bubbled out of him before he could stop it, leaving Ludwig staring at him in confusion. "You- you're joking, right? That's not my name, is it?"

Ludwig's hand tensed up a bit, and he looked away for a moment. "Um… yes," he stated. "Feliciano Vargas. That- that's your name."

"But… that's not even a name," he protested. It was as clear as water in his mind. Feliciano was a surname, sure. A famous painter's surname, even. But not a first name. And Vargas wasn't even an Italian name!

So why did it still sound right to his ears?

"Well, if nothing else, it's your name," Ludwig muttered, now looking at him intently, scanning him with a furrowed brow. "How… What- what did they do to you?"

He was even confusing himself now, it seemed, so he closed his eyes and tried to think. To sort things out before he upset him any more.

Name, Feliciano Vargas, apparently, but that just sounded a tiny bit off. Italy was the other one that came to mind, but surely that wasn't right either. At very least it made sense, though. It felt more like his name.

So that was sorted out, so what else? Who was he, maybe?

Distant explanations. When humans first became communities, their collective hopes and dreams formed an entity, and that entity existed to protect them. The great civilization, the Roman Empire, found two young children who collectively, were Italy. Veneziano and Romano- wait, was that his name? Veneziano?

It felt a bit more right, but still not all the way. Maybe all three were his name, in some way. Feliciano was a human, Italy was a nation, Veneziano was a brother.

He felt a bit more confident, but still, why was this so hard? The "machine", had it messed with his brain?

Warnings replayed in his mind. That machine had killed someone before, right? No, that wasn't right.

"What was that machine you were talking about?", he asked Ludwig.

It took a moment for him to answer. "It- it was using your powers… Ah, how much do you remember of that?"

"I'm Italy, I do light things and have a flag and-" He stopped himself. He could see the future but he wasn't supposed to talk about that, right?

Something akin to a sigh of relief left Ludwig. "Well, that's good. I don't think I could have explained all that. But the machine, it was meant to use your ability to see into the future to do the same, but it ended up hurting you more than anything."

Okay, so he did know. Vaguely, he could remember telling him and Japan- or was it Kiku?- all of that, but he could also remember seeing glimpses in a dark house in front of everyone. But, no, he'd promised not to, right? Or had that happened in the past?

At very least, he understood why Grandpa Rome had told him not to use it now. Surely, it was the machine and his powers that had scrambled everything around so much.

"So I… that's why I can't remember everything right?", Veneziano questioned.

And Ludwig's grip on his hand tightened. He looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes straight on. From bits and pieces, he could at least gather that this was a lot more emotion than typical of him. Knowing someone cared made him feel a little less terrified of whatever had happened.

"I would guess that to be the case, yes." This situation felt distinctly familiar to part of him, and very new to another. Like perhaps this was what Ludwig would do but not necessarily Germany. The difference between remembering a childhood spent together and not, he supposed.

Aha, was he really doing the same thing to Germany that Holy Rome had done to him?

"What do you need?", Ludwig suddenly asked. "Would talking to more people help? My brother and Antonio are here if you need them, or would you rather just be alone?"

Talking would probably help, and he kind of didn't want to be alone, but a swimming memory came back of a voice, his brother's voice, telling him to stop using his powers. Romano had been there too, hadn't he?

"Where's my brother?", he questioned.

Ludwig looked oddly surprised for a moment before nodding. "Well, yes, I suppose he would be awake by now. Here." He stood up and then grabbed Italy's hand to pull him up as well. "Are you alright to walk?"

"Think so."

Down a few more steps, and then into a small hallway. The layout seemed familiar the more he thought about it, but of course it would. He'd spent a lot of time at Ludwig's house, that much he could remember.

The question returned to his mind. "Oh, I meant to ask you. Why was I in your room?"

"That- that was your room. This is your house."

"Oh…"

Hesitation for a moment, Ludwig added a quick apology. "I should have realized that might have confused you, sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't have tried to straighten up without your permission."

Well, that explained why it hadn't been a mess, at least. Cleaning when nervous seemed like the kind of thing he would do, right?

"It's fine!", he assured him. "Thanks!"

The two of them entered the living room, and two people quickly turned to look at them. Both familiar, and Ludwig had said one was "Antonio", and that was the brown-haired guy that was all smiley, right? So the other one was Ludwig's brother?

"Morning, Fel-" Ludwig's brother stopped himself mid sentence. "Uh, er, Italy? Or do you not care?"

How did he- oh, but what was his name? Before he could think, he forced out the first thing that came to mind. "Morning, Prussia."

His- it was Gilbert, he remembered a second too late- eyes widened. "How did you-?"

"I told you!", Antonio- or Spain, that also sounded right- exclaimed.

"Told him what, exactly?", Ludwig questioned.

Someone else sat up and turned around to face them with a slight scowl. Romano piped up with a rather flat "Somethin' like my memories from before I 'died' the first time being mixed up with my ones from now?"

Wait, him too? Something about that made Veneziano feel oddly relieved, but also a bit sad. So it wasn't just him but he'd hurt his big brother.

"Look, you called me Spain, what else was that supposed to mean?", Antonio countered.

"Never said you were wrong," Romano muttered under his breath.

Antonio gave a pouting frown. "Yeah, but Gil said it was just something from your future vision."

"I don't have future vision, you clod!", Romano yelled back.

That was sort of a sore spot, and Veneziano tried to pipe up and tell Spain to maybe stop going on about it, but Prussia interrupted.

"Yeah, how were we supposed to know that, you were kind of dead! And besides, how would Feli knowing that prove it, he has future vision!"

His older brother was fuming now, and Veneziano cleared his throat before exclaiming "I- no, he's right! I remember a whole bunch of stuff from being Italy, but Feliciano's memories are sort of messed up!"

"So that's it," said Ludwig. "Perhaps we should ask Sealand about this. He would know something, surely."

Sealand? As in the real tiny guy who was friends with Seborga? Why would he...

Wait, Seborga! One of his brothers was there, but where was Seb? Veneziano tried to remember, but all he could find was snapshots from a time he knew was too long ago to be the present.

"Um, where's Seborga?", he hesitantly asked, and he was only met with confused looks from Gilbert and Antonio.

Ludwig was the one to offer an answer, but it took him an uncomfortable moment. "Oh, right. Sealand mentioned him…"

"Pipe up, Potato Bastard," Romano demanded crudely. "I can't remember him being here, so either he's dead or never died in the first place."

"The… former would be correct."

He sounded guilty to say it, but Veneziano knew at once he was correct. Vaguely, he remembered someone telling him this before, and that pool of water he'd seen looked way too much like the red water that he remembered had separated his two lives.

It stung though. He couldn't protect his little brother, he was beyond his reach. For shockingly the first time that day, Feliciano's eyes stung with tears.

Romano noticed this and let out a demanding shout. "Hey, you lot, let me talk to my fratello alone, got it?"

Hesitantly, Germany let go of his hand and mouthed another apology. Him and the other two shuffled into another room awkwardly, and Veneziano sat down next to Romano.

"Um, I'm sorry-"

Despite trying to start saying something about how he was sorry about what he'd done, or about what had happened to Seborga, or at least something.

"No, don't be," Romano interrupted. "But, I need to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"You know what's going on, right? This stupid war?"

War? Did he mean all the fighting between…

His face fell. "Right…", he muttered. "Everyone's fighting, right?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Romano admitted. "But more importantly than that, a lot of people are getting hurt. You were fighting to help England before you got captured, and you're not gonna be that stupid again, right?"

He was fighting? Yeah, that sounded familiar, and he could almost remember why. England had helped him, and he'd thought the fighting would stop if he helped.

But Romano was right. It's been a close call, and he couldn't let himself get hurt again.

"Of course not," he agreed.

"Even if your friends are fighting?"

Well, that was a good point. Germany and Japan, he couldn't let them fight it alone. Maybe he could talk about it to them whenever Kiku inevitably came back.

Romano didn't wait for an answer, though. "Either way, after this is all over, then what?"

"What?"

Glancing around, Romano sighed. "Well, do we go back to being Italy or do we just keep being humans?"

"I don't know," Veneziano muttered. "I mean, it's our job, but I can't leave everyone."

"Yeah, guess we'll just have to see," Romano agreed. "But, once things have calmed down, Seb will reincarnate, right?"

Of course he would, right? The panic creeping up on him turned to something of anticipation. "Yeah! And we can be actually good big brothers this time and protect him!"

His older brother gave a slight smirk. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

 _ **AN- Well, to be fair, I've been planning this since the very beginning. Like, I knew I wanted Italy's memory to be eaten by the machine before I knew anything else about the plot, almost. And I also can't forget that Seborga is just as much an Italy Brother as they are. Hope you don't mind I skipped forward to Italy waking up, though. Honestly, there was nothing interesting to see between the end of last chapter and start of this one. But, who's going to tell him about Japan? Ehe, thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	55. Tricolor Disperazione

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty- Tricolor Disperazione_

"Shouldn't they have been here by now?"

"They", apparently, were their allies, as far as Italy could gather. America and Canada, of all people, among them, alongside Sweden and Sealand and Liechtenstein. Poland had been mentioned too, but the subject dropped as soon as it was brought up.

Apparently, they meant to discuss a bit what had happened to him and his brother, but Romano didn't seem exactly on board with it, huffing and countering the question with a sneer. "Why does it matter? Not like they're gonna be able to help. That stupid machine turned our memories to mush, there, I just saved you a long-ass conversation."

He glared at Romano, but something about it seemed more exhausted than spiteful. "There's quite a bit more we need to talk about than just your state."

Prussia cast him a weird glance, an unspoken question, but Ludwig shook his head.

But was there a chance he could remember? Italy hoped so. As much as he tried, he couldn't shake the sick, broken feeling that he was lost, even if he had his gut instinct saying that he knew exactly where he was.

And remembering would be lovely, as now he just found himself curled up on a couch that was his but he couldn't remember it, holding onto a pillow that was his but he couldn't remember it, right next to a friend that he could sort of remember.

It was almost creepy, how he could remember another person so much more clearly than himself. He probably couldn't say what his own favorite color was, but he knew with razor certainty that Ludwig was quite partial to darker blues and duller greens, or that Kiku preferred whites and reds. Maybe because they were also portions of his previous life?

Even still, he couldn't remember things like any specific occurrences in his human life, save for a few scattered and dim fragments. Very pungently, the image of his grandpa slowly fading away in a hospital bed stood out, as did a wave of light enveloping him while Switzerland had him at gunpoint, but that was about it.

A few other things he could remember if he strained, but not in context. Sealand had told him Seborga had died. Belarus had tried to kill him and Holy Rome had saved him. His dreams had an overwhelming tendency to be really weird and that was bad because he wasn't supposed to see further than where he stood.

Things were a bit clearer on the other side. The Axis and Allies had battled on that same tiny island more times than he could count. A certain Valentine's Day had turned out to be a very traumatic experience because him and Germany had miscommunicated yet he regarded the occasion fondly. He'd managed to take down Turkey all on his own as a child, and he was incredibly proud of himself about that.

Why was it so much easier to remember Italy than Feliciano? Was it that machine? He pushed himself to think, what had happened in there?

So much pain, so alone; the sky burned green and the water red. Everything passing through his mind in a rapid current and sucking him dry…

An involuntary shudder, and Ludwig placed his hand on his shoulder. Italy moved a bit closer to him, pretty much with his head in his lap. Weird, Germany had taken several decades to get used to all of that, but no, Ludwig seemed to be skew a bit more towards intimate. Maybe it was a matter of percentage, or just that their upbringings were different? Or just that he remembered their shared childhood perfectly well, unlike him?

Okay, maybe not quite that, as Ludwig moved his hand from resting on his shoulder to his head. The gesture made his heart beat like crazy, as did the fact that despite his eyes still being focused squarely on the front door, he was absentmindedly messing with his hair in a way that made him feel all at once at ease and on edge. Maybe he just was a little fuzzy on modern friendship stuff, but that seemed a little more than platonic, especially coming from him of all people.

Which made sense. Vaguely, jogged by the strange warmth creeping up on him, he was aware of two things that might have prompted that. For one, Germany had, at least at the very end, been aware that he had feelings for him. As they were about to die, he'd hastily told him that he loved him very dearly and had since they were children, and… well, he'd admitted to remembering a bit of being Holy Rome, but also to harboring similar feelings. But on Ludwig's side of things, agh, he was sure something had happened but all he could conjure was feelings. Unease and happiness rolled up into one awkward tremor.

He had to ask, though, because he kind of doubted that Germany of all people would just sort of vaguely remember that they had sort of liked each other once and would act on that subconsciously. Softly, he questioned "Um, this kinda sounds a little awkward, but what are we?"

"Humans?"

"No, that's not what I meant!", Italy quickly assured him. "I meant like, you and me, are we like, friends, or-? Well, I know we're friends, but…"

Glancing over at him, Ludwig drew his hand away and turned a bright red. "Ah, well, it- it's… we're friends, yes, I'd say that with plenty of certainty."

Prussia laughed at this rather loudly. "Oh, come on, it's Feli for Celestia's sake!"

"You sure about that?", Romano countered.

"I'm really… not," Italy admitted, clutching the pillow he held tighter. "I don't remember what he was like or his life, just that it happened."

Frowning a bit, Prussia looked over at Spain, who didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation, and then back at him. "Look, I'm just saying that you don't need to be all shy about it around him. Even if he doesn't remember-"

"Well, you aren't wrong, I suppose," Ludwig stated before looking down at Italy. "What I mean is, we- for a short while before your capture, we were, to some extent, dating. However, you have absolutely no obligation to uphold that. I won't mention it again, and if I act in any way that seems inappropriate for a platonic friendship, tell me and I will refrain from doing it again."

In response, Italy reached for Ludwig's hand and placed it back on his head. "Don't. If you don't want to be with me anymore, it's fine, but I really do love you, Germany."

It was a second too late when he realized his slip-up, and Ludwig already looked a bit confused before clearing his throat. "I'm not Germany," he corrected. "At least not as you know him."

"I know that!" Feliciano hastily assured him. "It doesn't matter, though. I loved you when you were Holy Rome and I still loved you when you were Germany. It's the same thing now. I love Ludwig as much as I loved your previous lives."

That was true, right? Even if those memories were hazy and broken, Feliciano, who'd known him for years, had loved him. He had loved him, right? Try as he might, he couldn't remember it clearly, but it had to be true.

Well, it was hard to say. He couldn't clearly remember it, so for all he knew, he very well may have forced himself into liking him back after a confession, or the other way around. And it was very possible that Ludwig had only loved him as Feliciano, and Germany had only returned his feelings out of obligation.

He tried to sit up, but Ludwig still had his hand in a position that made that hard and was valiantly attempting to smile for his sake. "You're right, I shouldn't be so pessimistic on the issue," he conceded. "No matter where your memories lie, you're still very dear to me. I shouldn't doubt you, Fel- er, Italy. That is what you'd like me to call you, right?"

Something about that renewed certainty just made Italy feel worse. Very much, he wanted to yell "Yes! Doubt me!", but he couldn't find the voice, so he just muttered "Veneziano or Italy, either's fine."

And as he tried to close his eyes, Italy found that he had no idea how he felt. Germany was precious to him, Ludwig was precious to him, but was that love? He enjoyed the affection Ludwig showed him, but to what extent did he, or at least this him deserve that?

At least he could genuinely say that he had never in his life been so happy to see America, as his ringing the doorbell violently gave Ludwig an excuse to get up and Italy an excuse to sit up and sit slightly further away to make room for their new guests.

A moment later, he was incredibly grateful to see Sealand, as well as Sweden and Liechtenstein, even if he had no clue why they constituted a group. Well, at least that wasn't quite as confusing as the fact that Sealand seemed to be the one taking charge.

"Italy, can you explain a bit better what's going on?", and really, he was super grateful for Romano stepping up and answering for him.

"That machine thingy tried to get a bit more out of Feli than it could chew and sort of ended up getting all of him, but Italy kicked in and stopped them from killing him all the way. At least, that's how it looks from my end."

Sealand's eyes widened. "So that's it…"

"That isn't exactly-"

Ludwig began to object, but Romano snapped back. "Shut it, Potato Bastard. I'm the one who lived through it, I would know. Besides, if that isn't what happened, explain this."

Without transforming or anything, Romano made a motion with his hand and a gun appeared in it. He fired a few rounds of light shots into the wall before letting it vanish again.

"Hey, look at that, I'm not the only weird one," Gilbert remarked.

Liechtenstein stared at the demonstration, as if almost repulsed by it. "How could he-?"

"Well, yeah, your explanation holds up," Sealand admitted. "The machine is lethal; Iceland said as much, and Italy's vitals were messed up. Wouldn't surprise me if his powers hadn't kicked in to keep himself alive and damaged his mind in the process, given how his powers gained dominance a lot quicker than normal."

"Quicker than… normal?", Liechtenstein repeated. "Are you saying it's normal for our nation forms to become dominant?"

Casting an uneasy glance at her, almost as if he suddenly regretted what he'd said, Sealand sighed. "Well, yeah, probably. I mean, if you can dream of the past and your aging slows and your powers become stronger with time, I'd say that's probably the end goal. Haven't seen it progress that far yet, though."

Softly, someone else spoke up. "Your aging slows?", they questioned. Er, Canada questioned. "I don't remember that part."

"I would say so," Sweden stated. "It's been years since I first transformed, and I look no different than I did in photographs from before then. Given how much easier it's become to transform and how wounds heal faster even when not transformed, I'd say I'm on the way to not being able to be called human anymore. "

It made sense, but everyone else seemed a bit horrified by the words. "Well, can't say it's unexpected," Ludwig admitted, even if he maintained a clenched fist through the words. "Not being normal humans, it makes sense that this is what will happen."

"What, that we're gonna all become completely countries again?", America questioned before giving a nervous laugh. "Oh, well, that… On the bright side, like pretty much everyone we know is connected to this, so we'll be able to live forever with all our friends, right?"

"Excepting our parents and any friends we may make outside our kind," Canada interjected.

"Whatever, not like I have either of those to begin with," Prussia muttered, and then glanced over at Canada and more firmly added. "It'll be fine, I'm sure."

But through all of this, Liechtenstein simply stared straight ahead, looking like a ghost was hovering in front of her face. "I won't be human?", she questioned with a hollow-sounding voice.

"Erika, it's not like that," Sealand assured her. "It's still you, just, er, more."

The poor girl still looked on the verge of tears. "Erika will die, but it won't…" She said "it" with a hint of venom, like it was a demon's name.

Laughing a bit, she glanced around the room until her eyes settled on a lighter laying by a candle. Slowly, she started walking towards it.

"No, what are you-"

"Tell me," she questioned, not looking up and sounding eerily calm. She reached to her head and undid the ribbon she had in her hair, leaving a strip of blue fabric in her hand. "If I cannot transform, will it die? Liechtenstein, will it no longer be a problem?"

Sealand gaped at her before rushing over to attempt to pull her back. "Please, stop!", he begged. "Think about your brother! If you can't transform, you can't try to save him, right?"

"But you will, right?", she questioned, turning back to him with a wide-eyed grin. "While you're trying to make extra sure Kiku doesn't die- ah, face it, he's hopeless, just like Basch."

"Don't say things like that!", America begged her. "We can save them, it's not too late! And we need your help to do it!"

Smiling, Liechtenstein reached out for the lighter and held the blue ribbon lightly by her fingertips. "Big brother wouldn't want me to die," she told herself. "And big brother would want to see me again someday. I don't want this power, I only want to live my life, Erika's life."

She chuckled and flicked the lighter on before letting her ribbon fall into the flames, turning into a pile of ashes in an instant.

"And the demon is dead," she muttered.

Italy felt his own eyes welling up with tears and something rising in his throat. If they were demons, then he'd killed Feliciano and taken his body. He'd killed Feliciano's brother too, and taken his place by asking for his best friend and boyfriend's affection. And Kiku, was he dead already? Or did he have any right to care.

It was hard to see, and heaving breaths left a body he wasn't even sure was his. "I'm sorry!", he exclaimed, trying to get to his feet. "I don't- I killed him, didn't I?"

Someone, probably Ludwig, caught his hand. But it was someone else who spoke, someone whose voice he didn't quite recognize. "Please don't be ridiculous. You are no less yourself than you were before that machine got to you, Feliciano."

"He's right!", America added. "If we're demons, then how do we have memories of our past lives? 'Cause I remember me and Artie talking from before all that."

"And demons aren't meant to protect the world," stated Canada. "That's our purpose, is it not?"

Really, it didn't make him feel any better. Well, maybe a little, but mostly it made him feel he'd robbed Feliciano of having a life of his own before taking it from him, but he sat back down. No one spoke for an awkward moment, and truthfully, he was grateful for the doorbell ringing.

Everyone seemed a bit confused, but it was America who rose to answer it. But once he opened the door, he simply stared outside wordlessly, in disbelief, almost.

Sealand also rose to answer it, but instead of staring wordlessly, he rushed outside. Italy rose to see what was going on and saw the child hugging someone rather tightly.

Three people stood at the door. One, who was probably the person America was gaping at, was England, but it took him Sweden walking to the door and staring at the other two for a moment before smiling for him to recognize the other two.

They were Finland and Norway, as indicated by how Sweden embraced one with tears in his eyes and the other looked on with a dazed smile.

* * *

 _ **AN- Okay, I think I went from zero to sixty all the way back to like, negative ten with the emotions there. Like okay, that was a weird chapter. But Liechtenstein going crazy after Italy's death- er, memory mishaps was something I really wanted to see, because what better way to screw up the main character even more than by him questioning the validity of actions he had no part in and how much of "him" is still alive or ever was? And by making him feel really unsure of his love life. And by killing one of his best friends. Poor thing, I almost feel bad for him. Or at least as bad as an emotionless sadistic writer can. Not all bad, though, because look, England and the remaining Nordics are there! Happy Hanatamago Family reunion! Well, at least excluding Dead Ladonia and indirectly Dead Denmark and Iceland. And Hanatamago, come to think of it. Another Parallel next time, because it needs to be explained how they ended up there. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	56. P8- Magic Trick

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter Eight- Magic Trick_

"Ah, Nor- er, Lukas…"

Estonia rapped on the doorframe as he entered. A bit unnecessarily as well. Lukas wanted to scoff, to tell him to go ask for help from someone he hadn't rudely dismissed.

No, he looked oddly pale, like something was terribly wrong. And a blindingly pink charm bracelet was clutched in his hand, dangling limply. Sadly.

He'd finally seen past the euphemisms, had he? Seen that Lithuania was doomed the moment he went out of his sight? But the bracelet, how had he recovered that?

The answer was Estonia's next, hesitant yet blunt words. "Yao's dead."

Which explained the bracelet; China had probably borrowed its powers. Shame, though. Yao had seemed to be a fine person, and if it hadn't been for his brother's misplaced heroism would have been probably one of the most stable among them. Not estranged from any home or robbed of too much of a life to make up. If things hadn't worked against him, he probably would have been able to return to a perfectly nice life after all was said and done.

But that wasn't what was important. No, there was something else, some reason Estonia had come to him of all people.

"Tragic, yes, but is that the only reason you're here?"

The bracelet alluded to the answer before it came and the odd steel in his eyes despite his trembling confirmed it.

"They said you weren't a rebellion anything after Romania…" He trailed off, almost as if afraid the mention of his old friend or colleague or partner or commander or lover or whatever he was in the mood to refer to him as was triggering. "But, well, I know you were involved somewhat. So, if you know anything, could you please direct me to it?"

Not an unexpected conversation topic but a stupid one. Really, Estonia should have known better than to…

Lukas cast a glance at the security camera observing the room. It was still smoking a bit.

"Wasn't aware you could short circuit things," he remarked in a hushed tone. It was a remarkable trick and could be supremely useful, leaving him questioning why it hadn't been used before.

Estonia glanced over at the security camera himself, as if impressed with his handiwork. "Truth be told, neither was I."

"Hey, Ro, does this confirm your hypothesis? That strong emotions lead to stronger powers?" He came close to asking it out loud before realizing it would make him appear even more insane than he must already to Estonia.

Well, his chuckling also probably accomplished that. It didn't appear to make much of an impact, though, as Estonia didn't so much as react to it. Therefore, he wouldn't justify himself, that seemed fair. So he moved back to the topic at hand. "Anyways, you wanted to know about SERAPH, right?"

"I want to know how I can help," Estonia explained quietly. "With Li- um, Toris gone, I-"

"Have nothing to lose?", Lukas finished. A nod. "I feel obliged to mention that your life is still at stake, but-"

"That's not an issue." Estonia flashed a hesitant grin at the second interruption. "Without my little brother, I never had much of one to go back to."

Ah, so he was being hesitant about Romania but not that? Funny, he'd been sure his brother being their most persistent target and threat had been a bit more well known. "I can relate, Estonia," he practically sighed out.

A kind smile was offered in apology. "Eduard's fine," he corrected. "And I'm well aware. That's why I came to you, I figured if anyone was willing to exact revenge, it would be you."

"Oh absolutely." Revenge, yes, he craved the word. Revenge for making Mathias have to sacrifice himself. For turning Tino into a martyr and Berwald into a recluse- or well, more than he'd already been. For forcing Sealand to struggle alone. For killing Yong Soo and Mei and now Kiku. For taking Emil from him and turning his precious little brother into a killer and a madman. For driving Vladimir over the edge with regret and fear. It was quite a long list, really.

Estonia- no, Eduard seemed pleased to hear Lukas add "I'm still very much involved in SERAPH, and I can assure you that we are not nearly as weak as we once were."

"That's good, because if there was ever a time to do something, now would be it," Eduard half suggested. "With what happened to Yao, everyone's sort of shaken up. All feel like they killed him, and to be fair, they did. Ivan and Sadiq are really torn up and god, Feliks was actually crying. Had to tell him a good place to hide until he felt a bit more put together. Really, it wouldn't be a bad time to remind them you all still exist."

Normally, he would just tell him to run the idea past the leader or dismiss it. But no, he was right. If Yao could be used as a martyr, the dominoes could easily line up properly to all collapse and fall on top of the organization.

It was almost too easy. Francis would have to agree to it.

* * *

"Arthur, over here!"

Lukas called him over, and almost at once, he could feel his colleague's excitement. His eyes were practically shining, and he was smiling a lot more brightly than he'd known him to be capable of. Like, he was pretty much beaming, it was almost scary.

"Oh, I've been looking for you," Arthur stated, but he knew it was fairly obvious. Little other reason for him to be wandering around. "Francis just got called off somewhere, do you know what that might be about?"

And the sunny expression vanished almost instantly. Lukas quickly turned grim and groaned. "I swear upon my brother's nonexistent grave if you are not kidding I will-"

He didn't get to finish whatever that was, as Tino quickly appeared behind them. All smiles, and to an even bigger extent than normal, but it wasn't nearly as disconcerting as when Lukas did it.

"Alright, so Francis is out, but we can still do this, even without him," Tino stated, almost boastingly. "I mean, we have Katyusha now, so-"

"You got Ukraine?", Lukas questioned, almost in disbelief. "I figured she'd be near impossible to crack."

Wait, what about Ukraine? What were they getting so worked up about? Arthur tried to ask but-

"Not impossible, no. She came around when I mentioned how much better off Ivan would be for it."

"Wonderful! I think Sadiq will be willing to help as well, he seemed fairly willing once I reminded him of everyone."

"Well, he's lost a lot. Isn't surprising that-"

With an exasperated sigh, Arthur cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but what are you all rambling on about?"

Both of them stared at him for a moment. Lucas promptly hit himself on the head and Tino gave a strained laugh.

"It's, um... "

"We're starting the rebellion."

"Yes, that."

Well, that explained the frustration over Francis's absence, but wait, what? They were… no, they couldn't be serious. His laughs sounded more than a little like Tino's as he looked between the two, for some sign of the joke.

There was no joke. They were dead serious.

"God, you can't actually be doing this!", he muttered. "Not without Francis."

After a few seconds too long, Lukas gave an agreeing nod. "You're right, we can't do this without Francis. He's the only one with access to the Leader, we'll need him to come back before we can start."

"But in the meantime, we're setting things up," Tino explained. "Eduard can jam equipment up a bit, and that should help us out. Plus Sadiq and Katyusha have been around a while, they can help talk others around to joining our cause."

"Alright, but now? Is this because of Yao, because Francis said he messed things up."

Lukas sort of shrugged. "Well, he did. But that's why we have to strike now! Without Italy to buy us extra time, we need to act quickly."

"Fair enough, but Francis-"

He was cut off by a familiar voice that made him want to punch something. "Yes?", Francis interjected.

"Speak of the devil," Arthur muttered, fighting back a smirk. "Yes, we were just discussing-"

"Your plans for rebellion, yes, I've heard." Francis looked remarkably nonplussed by the concept. "Lukas, I trust your judgement in most cases, but this is just ridiculous. Could you have possibly picked a worse time?"

Lukas looked perfectly prepared to rip Francis's head off. Even if he could relate to the feeling, Arthur still found his reaction a bit overblown. "Oh, and you're the best judge of this kind of thing? I have four times your experience, might I remind you!"

"I am well aware, mon cher," admitted Francis rather calmly. "But you don't speak with the Leader, do you?"

After a strained bout of speechlessness, Lukas barked back. "What could it have possibly said that would make such an opportunity not ideal?"

Why was Francis so sad looking? All the frowning didn't sit right on his stupid face. Well, he explained it rather quickly: "That if we remain as we are, we will all be dead within the hour."

This didn't deter Lukas in the slightest. "Oh? And what are we supposed to do, just sit back?"

"No, dear, we need to leave," Francis countered, adding "quickly" as an afterthought.

Oh, and it seemed Lukas was only now reaching boiling point, as he quickly launched into a frenzy of words too quick for him to pick up. He could hardly understand anything being said, perhaps mostly because it consisted of lots of Norwegian words that sounded like profanity mixed in with a few phrases he could pick out. "Ro was wrong about you" and "I'd rather die than abandon this" stood out.

But Tino butted in with a more calm question. "If you don't mind me asking, how? This place is nearly impossible to-"

"Nearly, yes. But impossible, no," Francis offered. "I think I have an idea, but it's not something someone could do under normal circumstances."

Lukas seemed to have finally calmed down a bit and asked "How do you plan to do this, exactly?" with an acidic bite.

Francis chuckled slightly. "Oh, allow me to demonstrate."

His next words took on a demanding tone, and Lukas's face fell quickly. " **Please, I need you to leave here. Not for my sake, or even your own, but a lot of people died to get you this far and I wouldn't dare undo their work. So, you will stand quietly here until I give you further instructions**."

Not another word was spoken. Lukas just stared straight ahead, unfocused and rigid.

"Ah, you see, I have a suspicion if I give you orders to escape through a very specific means with my powers, then it may just work," Francis explained. "A simple trick, but whatever works, I suppose. Anyone else willing to try?"

"Please." Tino stepped forward. "If you truly believe this to be a lost cause, I'd much rather leave this place than die futilely."

Smiling, oddly sunny for the dark tone, Francis gave Tino the command. " **Well, your husband would prefer that too. And your son. And Matthias, I'd imagine. So please, stand quiet until I give all three of you the go ahead to leave.** "

Tino assumed the same eerily rigid stance, and Francis turned to Arthur. He'd said something about the three of them, hadn't he?

"No," Arthur quickly told him. "I'm not leaving you behind."

"Did I ever say I wasn't coming?", Francis countered.

Arthur scoffed. "Idiot, you can't order yourself through this."

"You're right, I can't" Francis agreed. "And you're correct to say I won't be joining you. I have some, er, unfinished business. But I will be right behind you, I can assure that."

Lies. Transparent ones. "Like hell you will. I'm staying here, got that?"

" **I'd love to give you that, Artie, but you have a family you need to warn,"** Francis ordered. His words were impossible to shut out. **"So please, when you get out of here, find your brothers and tell them that they need to be on their guard. And that their Big Brother Francis loves them very much. Now, stand here and shut up for once in your life and I'll tell you how to leave**."

He couldn't move. He really couldn't even think about moving. He could only stare as Francis approached him and hugged him tightly, in a way that reminded him of the spectacular failure of his love life. If only he could have spoken, he could have told him that he was a complete moron and could just get out if he wouldn't be so damn stubborn about it. If only he could have moved, he would have grabbed him and kissed the frog prince goodbye.

"Arthur, I'll tell you this, at least. I will see to it that we'll make it out just fine. You, me, and everyone else."

Hesitating, he pulled away and added something that decreased the credibility of the prior statement. "I'm truly sorry for every hardship I've brought upon you. Not just this, but us… well, we were doomed from the start. Even still, I love you."

" **Now, all three of you…** "

* * *

"I will see to it that we'll make it out just fine."

How bitter the words tasted on his lips. Lies, all lies, but he wanted Arthur to accept his choice. If he could have saved them, he would have. Truly, he would, but it was too easy a trick. Make them think they're not fleeing but charging ahead.

Even still, there were misgivings. In a stunning turn of events, he actually agreed with the others. In fact, he didn't even bother trying to talk the other three around to saving themselves. People had a right to their decisions. If Katyusha refused to leave her brother behind, if Eduard wanted to do what his family could not, if Sadiq wanted to avenge the friends and family he'd lost, they had that right. But that right didn't apply to the ones he'd sent away, as something took precedence in both cases.

One's dying words had a sort of importance, one that transcended the wishes of the living. It had been his predecessor's dying wish that Lukas lived. It was his own that Arthur lived. Therefore, their right to an honorable death was canceled out.

Katyusha and Sadiq had gone to attempt to talk the others around, leaving only Eduard at his side. He was quiet, fiddling around with the charm bracelet he'd taken from Yao's body. The one that had belonged to his cousin, the one that seemed to have spurred his decision to turn.

"We… aren't going to make it out, are we?", Eduard questioned with a calm certainty. Francis didn't say a word, that seemed to be enough.

"Well, then." He took a few steps ahead, towards the control room. "At very least we can raise some hell on the way out."

"That's the spirit."

Eduard closed his eyes as the control room drew closer, as if to focus. Deep breaths, he seemed to be gathering his energy.

A sort of pulse rang across the room as he entered it. It turned the panels black in a sudden shot. The lights shot on as well, revealing a figure standing in the room's center.

His eyes opened, and Eduard looked shocked and disgusted all at once. Understandably so. Odd posture, more marionette than human and a green tint at the figure's skin marked it as unnatural. But the pieces fell into place with the name that Eduard breathed out.

"Raivas?"

It was the abomination the Leader had spoken of, almost certainly.

The monster, if it could even be called that, didn't respond. It simply turned towards with jerky, mechanical motions. A blank expression was branded across its face, except for the eyes, which were sickly green and gaping and glaring all at once.

Knives adorned the air, certainly coming from whatever vile creature stood in the room, and bore into the heavily breathing Eduard.

* * *

 _ **AN- To those who thought last chapter was too much: ha. Very funny. You thought that was bad? Dearies, you haven't seen anything yet. Even with FrUK and Latvia and all that. But I feel sort of bad, so as a compromise, I'll give you all a nice bonus chapter next. Some HongIce fluff, won't that be lovely? Well, considering what Norway said about his little brother, probably not, but I can try. And if that's not enough, I wrote a cute LietPol thing that sort of is an alternate take on what happened to them here, seeing what could have happened if they'd actually managed to run away together like they intended. It's called You the flower couldn't sting, so go check that out if you want. Shameless plugs aside, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, you see this POV split? Get used to it. It's going to come in handy here towards the end.**_


	57. B4- Morning Light

_Magitalia_

 _Bonus Chapter Four- Morning Light_

Dawn was the colors of flame. It signaled that they had survived another night longer. So Emil shook his companion awake, only to find him rising at once.

"Morning," Leon muttered. Looking straight at Emil and his sunken eyes, he shook his head. "Em. Sleep. Please."

Nodding, he started to push himself to his feet. "I'll try to remember that."

But he grabbed Emil's hand and dragged him back down, a small cry emerging as he landed on the grass. "No, I mean sleep now."

"It's already bright," he muttered. "A bit late for that."

Leon gave a halfhearted grin and took off his jacket. "Here, try…" Folding it over and over, he eventually produced a wad of thin cloth that sort of resembled a.. Well, it didn't resemble much beyond a wad of thin cloth. But still, he presented it to Emil with an enthusiastic "This!"

"Put it over your eyes, it should block out the sun."

Taking it with a sigh, Emil pretty much smashed it onto his face. He felt smothered by its scent. Less so by the dark, as bits of brightness still leaked through the windbreaker.

"Good. Now lay down and I'll keep watch."

His eyeroll was obscured by the wad covering his face. "Oh, you're in charge, now are you?"

Even still, he could practically see Leon's mock pouting. "Aw, don't go all 'I'm in charge here', Em. I'm just doing my part as a good member of the team by making sure we're all in top condition! I would tell Mei and Yong Soo if they weren't already doing just fine at it."

"I truly don't see the root of your concern," Emil muttered as he uneasily lowered himself into the grass. "Yong Soo, Mei, they perform just fine with the amount of sleep they get, and I do the same."

"It's not about performance, it's about health," Leon grumbled. "It's not fair that you take all the watch shifts, and it's not going to pan out well for you in the long run."

Fair enough. With a sigh that showed his distaste just fine, he forced his eyes shut and wrapped a loose arm of the jacket around his head to keep it from slipping as he put his hand down.

A small chuckle came from his companion. "Goodnight, Em."

Under his breath, he groaned "it's freaking morning you clod," but regretted the words as soon as they came.

He knew what was going to happen. Why did he feel he could still be dismissive? Did he want to make Leon hate him?

Those images bounced around Emil's mind, and a familiar heat burned at his eyes.

Before him, no, before the four of them stood a man with a ponytail and an uneasy smile. A familiar scene, yes, he begged his mind to skip ahead a bit. Every possible situation had been tried and retried in that battle, he knew just how it was destined to end. So he barely noted the familiar motions until its familiar end.

A blade entered Leon's stomach. Pierced all the way through his body. His eyes grew wide and trembling for a moment before his body collapsed and his eyes went dark. Their attacker, whose name he couldn't seem to pick up, stared at the blood in horror, his weapon disappearing before its wielder did the same.

And it went on. Mei rushed to her cousin's body and desperately checked for signs of life. Yong Soo just stared, mortified at the occurrences. Things got blurry for his own sight from there out, but Emil couldn't be certain if it was tears or a bad connection. The latter, most likely.

More flashes from further along that path. The kanji for eye, the one Leon had taught him as a shaky conversation topic, it became an apology. He would bear it for yet another person he could not save.

With a red pen he'd picked up somewhere, he'd scribble it on the back of the hand of his former ally's killer after Yong Soo and Mei had tore into him the next time they were to meet. It was a horrific scene, to see those two turn violent, but it had really lost its shock value. Perhaps that numbness is why it was only in later passes of the vision that he saw himself adding the doodle.

Further and further it fell, the lens left unfocused by the distance. Mei's death was somewhere in there, he knew it, but it just wouldn't show. Which was fine, he could really live without seeing it again. Yong Soo left at some point too, but it was too unfocused to see just where that occurred.

The end was clear as light, though. Green fluid clouded the world and wires drained every last bit of thought until nothing remained but flashes of light that were too unfocused to see clearly. After that, the vague sensation that he was trapped. Panic and distress too dulled to be expressed in anything but muffled cries. Smothered by the dark, everything left but fear.

"Emil!"

Quickly, everything faded away, only the patches of light visible behind the windbreaker visible. And that was pulled away from him too, with a rather distressed Leon looming over him instead.

"Wha- someone attacking?", Emil sleepily muttered, and his companion merely chuckled a bit.

"Everything's fine, you were just sort of…" He hesitated, as if unsure how to word things. "Well, you were sort of muttering and twitching? Sorry to wake you, I just thought something was wrong."

Is that how it looked? He always sort of wondered if his body showed any signs of the strange premonitions he had while asleep. But it wasn't anything he needed to worry about, especially given the specific subject of that one. So, he just put the jacket back over his head and muttered "Just a nightmare, nothing to worry about."

"Oh, sorry," Leon awkwardly and breathily offered. "You need to talk about it, or-?"

"It's fine," he repeated. It had been fine, it would be fine. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything that could be done. Last time he'd tried that, it'd ended with Matthias dead and made everything else in his life fall apart.

The future couldn't be changed, at least not drastically. The universe would always make up for what it was cheated of and then some.

Someone was humming, and it took him a minute to realize it was Leon. The tune was familiar, the same Lukas would sometimes sing to him as a lullaby when they were young. It conjured up bitter memories, but he told himself it was a coincidence. Not meant for him, just what popped into his head.

Or maybe not, because with a few lyrics muttered, he could feel someone adjusting the wad of cloth covering his eyes. A slight chuckle impeded the tune's progression.

"Are you sure you're alright?," Leon asked again. "Because if your visions are getting bad, I'm totally up to talk things out."

He knew. God, he knew. But Emil just stayed quiet, hoping perhaps he could feign sleep.

"Well, if you don't want to, just remember I'm here, alright?"

Leon offered it so brightly, almost painfully so. Like birdsong, like morning light, he was too much too early.

And in his half asleep state, the truth hit him like a comet. Leon cared about him. Leon considered him a friend. Leon believed in him.

Perhaps not a breakthrough in any field, but he'd never really thought about it straight on like that before. It was dizzying to comprehend. Leon knew the worst of him; that he'd broken his family apart, that he loathed humans and nations alike, and now that sleep was, for want of a better word, nightmare.

But still, he was here. Offering his jacket, humming a lullaby, begging him to mind his health, offering to talk about silly nightmares. Still caring.

Was it debt leftover from when Leon discovered his powers and he offered assistance in learning the meaning of the world after his initial helper had run off? No, Leon had made it up to him a thousand times over. It had to be sheer affection. He didn't want to believe otherwise.

If the universe operated in equivalents, perhaps might it be alright with another soul for Leon's?

He conjured the scene again, almost unwillingly. But this time, instead of letting it play out, he forced himself forward, holding the spear in his hands and lashing out at the enemy until all that remained was a bloodied corpse.

Stares. Everyone, Leon most of all, seemed terrified by his actions. It had been jarring to them to see that transition, at least without seeing it a thousand times before.

The person Emil would become forced out an explanation. It was him or them, and he wasn't about to let any harm come to them.

Slowly, it seemed that was accepted, and the four of them proceeded.

So there was a way? He had to investigate this further. His head felt like it was about to split open as he focused its gaze onto the path ahead. He needed to know.

Unsurprisingly, the next thing it arrived upon was another scenario where Leon died. It was later, but not late enough.

Again and again, he pressed forward just to find the route still led to death. Was it because he was meant to die? No, surely not. After all, after exchanging Matthias's life for his own, Emil had been allowed to live despite not deserving the shot. So perhaps it was simply all he could think about.

Please, he begged his mind, show me a route where he lives.

Instead, it just showed him more blood falling onto his hands. Egypt, Cyprus, Monaco; he recognized a few of the people his spear was forced into.

Was the future trying to tell him that protecting someone would come at a price? Or something else?

A warm, sick feeling grew in his chest. That emotion, he tried to zero in on it, find where it came from.

Somehow, the scene that formed was shockingly clear. A familiar one, too. It was only him and Leon, but they were, just as they had with the others before, stealing supplies from a closed convenience store.

Neither of them minded the security cameras. Even if a police report was filed, it would never go through. Ever since he'd found no missing report had been filed on him after running away from home, Emil had deduced that whoever was after them erased their tracks as best they could, making crimes a non issue.

And a bit further it flickered, to the two of them in an abandoned house, standing next to a broken window. Leon laughed a bit at something one of them had said before producing a bag of licorice from the backpack.

Emil was close to chastising him for wasting space on something so frivolous before the intention was explained.

"You've been so down since the others left, thought you could use this." The voice was echoey, but clear enough.

"And you haven't?"; an obvious counter, quickly disproven by him producing some cinnamon candy from the bag and popping a few in his mouth.

A wink and a laugh. "What, it's not like you're the only one who got anything. God, I was just trying to be..."

He paused to swallow before the obvious punchline hit. "Sweet."

Something skipped in the vision and the two were quickly falling into each other. The sensation was disjointed by the playback, but Emil was certain it was a kiss.

Like bile, that sick feeling rose again, but so did more benign sensations. A warmth, a flame, something intangible. The taste of cinnamon and licorice. Light, electric touches.

Was this a possibility, then? Was that why he felt so compelled to see a future where Leon wasn't a casualty of his inability to help?

But, he could still see futures where instead of joy, he was left with despair, and it only got worse the further he pushed. The longer he was able to keep Leon alive, the more his death would sting.

Not to mention the blood. Was he truly willing to harm or kill others to keep a single person safe? A single person that could one day be worth the world to him, yes, but still a single person.

That answer could come another day, as his powers seemed to fade away briefly enough for something closer to sleep to take its place.

* * *

 _ **AN- Wait, did I say this would be a breather from suffering? Well, it was going to be, but then I decided the thing I already had written wasn't good enough, so I retooled it a bit and it ended up with double the length and double the darkness. Not saying Iceland ended up killing anyone other than Portugal (the guy who was supposed to kill Hong Kong, didn't really get to say that outright), but I am saying that Turkey's probably been through some crap and Monaco had to die sometime before Chapter One because she doesn't seem to be around. But look, there's a bit of fluff, so can we be even? Your regularly scheduled fun times will be back for probably the rest of the story next time, with plenty more _ACE/Nordic/Axis brand despair. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 _ **PS, well, we know why Iceland wanted his body destroyed now, right? Considering what happened to Latvia...**_


	58. White Rift

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty One- White Rift_

When he answered the door, Alfred felt his breath catch in his throat. His eyes were playing a trick on him, they had to be- but no, Arthur was there. Looking rather tired and irritated, but definitely there.

Someone rushed past him. There were two other guys at the door too, ones he felt he should recognize but couldn't quite place. Sealand trapped one of them in a hug, and Berwald approached him and did the same.

"Finland", "Tino", he supposed that was who it was, but even if it made his friend happy, he was still more concerned about Arthur being there. Something seemed a bit off about his presence, even beyond the fact that he was technically an enemy. Italy and Matthew were floating behind him now, the latter of the two exhaling sharply.

After a moment, Arthur cleared his throat. "Um, Francis told me to tell you two he loves you." His voice sounded as tired as his eyes, the dark circles almost audible.

"Is that so?", Matthew questioned, sounding a bit unenthusiastic to say the least.

Alfred quickly forced himself to find words. Things to say. Come on, it's Arthur. "What are you doing here?", he finally produced, trying to sound more amazed than skeptical.

A sharp frown. "Francis," he practically scoffed.

"He forced us to leave," the other person there elaborated. Norway, Lukas, judging by the cross hairpin that was who he was. "Completely against our will, might I add."

"Well, against your will, I asked him to help me out," a slightly muffled Tino explained.

Sealand pulled away from the hug, giving Lukas a questioning glance. "What? Why did he make you leave?"

"More importantly, how?", Berwald added. "I've been told time and time again no one can leave."

"Ah, right," Arthur muttered. "Long story, actually. Very long story, very, ah-"

The three escapees glanced between each other for a moment before Lukas bluntly told no one in particular "We should sit down. It might take a while."

Lovino, or whatever he was supposed to be called now (Roma or something, was it?), glared at Lukas as he forced his way in but didn't object. And everyone sat back down awkwardly, with Antonio standing with a strange chuckle to make room for Tino to sit and Italy intentionally leaving an Arthur-sized gap between himself and Alfred.

"Eng- um, Arthur, can you please explain at least why you're here?", Sealand requested.

Arthur looked confused for a moment for no reason in particular, well, at least not a reason he could figure out before he replied. "Sorry, you're Tino's kid, right? But how do you know my name?"

Sealand stared at him, blinking more than someone would normally if not doing it for effect. "What do you mean? I lived with you for months, I helped you out a ton, I-"

He cut himself off as Arthur raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, clearly not drawing the connection. Sealand then quickly stood up, transformed into Flying Mint Bunny, and sat back down. "There, that better?", he questioned.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Erika very purposefully looking away from the scene, as if she didn't want to know if she could still see him or not.

Arthur gave a few strained laughs. "You-you're Flying Mint Bunny?"

Floating over to him, Sealand untransformed and offered his hand to the still gaping Arthur. "The one and only! But you can call me Sealand, nice to properly meet you!"

"It's a pleasure, Sealand," Arthur stated, shaking his hand. Sealand seemed to be fighting back a squee. Seemed he was finally getting acknowledged.

"Pleasantries aside, can we cut to the chase?", Ludwig requested. "Why are you all here? If you're no longer our enemies, then what brings you here?"

Lukas hesitated before providing a vague "hate to say it, but I'm not entirely certain myself".

"Francis sent us out, but I can't remember exactly how we escaped," Tino added. "Sorry I'm not helping much-"

Berwald cut him off with an uncharacteristically warm "Don't worry about it, please. We don't need to know how, but if you can remember why-"

"Well, I do remember that," Arthur interrupted rather bitterly. "Bloody Frog told us there was some cataclysmic event about to happen none of us would live through if we didn't leave. I told him I wanted to stay and face it with everyone but…" He hesitated, assuming a creepily bright grin when he caught the revulsion on Matthew's face. "Well, he said he'd be fine, and he'd get everyone else out too."

Lukas made a noise that could only be described as a frustrated growl. A "don't lie to children" kind of growl. And honestly, Alfred had no idea growls could sound like that. "Everyone is, more likely than not, dead," he bluntly clarified. "France included."

It felt like someone had poured ice water down his back and into his chest. "Francis is dead?" Something about that just sounded fundamentally wrong, like saying the sky was polka dots or Florida was cold. Matthew's eyes darted to the floor, a strange noise came from Italy, and Gilbert and Antonio both looked pretty equally mortified by the words.

Arthur glared at Lukas and countered "Well, perhaps so, but I doubt the leader would be so hasty to rid himself of someone so powerful. See, he'll be fine so long as he's still useful."

Sounded more like he was convincing himself of that, but whatever. "So we can still save him, right?"

"Save him? From something that dangerous?" Antonio sounded oddly dejected as he said the words. "But he wanted us to be safe, right? That's why he saved you guys…"

"But he could have wanted us to save him," Matthew countered. "If he sent you out here, he might have been just sending for more help."

Tino shook his head. "He would have mentioned that if if was his intention."

"It's not really his style, anyways," Gilbert added. "He's more the kind of guy to take the blow for you and let you get away." He added a dry chuckle, as if remembering something.

Ludwig cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but have you considered perhaps he wanted to warn us?", he suggested "If something is taking out the organization, wouldn't it also target us once it's finished?"

"That's a good point," Italy softly added. "So we need to stay away from it, right?"

"No, we need to confront it," Arthur stated. "If there's a chance he- they can be saved, we should take it, right?"

"But if there's a chance we could survive, we should also take it," Berwald countered. "Already we've involved ourselves with enough danger to last a century. If we can stay safe, we should do that, right?"

Lovino (Romano, maybe?) pretty much yelled "Damn right we should! I don't care who's gonna die, even if it's Japan or whoever, I don't want it to be us!"

It sounded like they were all giving up. It was sad to see, but Alfred tried to rationalize it. They'd lost Kiku and Francis and, God that even hurt to think but there were others too and if they could still be saved or even avenged, that was right, wasn't it?

Trying to say that, he really only got as far as "But we need to-" before Lukas cut him off.

"Would you like me to remind you who all has died so far? Matthias. Emil. Do I need to continue? Do you want that list to be longer?"

"Well of course not!", Tino exclaimed. "That's why if we can, we need to stay out of this! We don't want to add ourselves to that list, do we?"

Sealand took a deep breath before interjecting. "Mama, I'm sorry, and I don't want anyone else on that list. But if anyone's going to fight to protect everyone, I need to help. That whole group is people I've failed to save and-"

"You don't owe them anything, P- Sealand," said Berwald. "You haven't failed them."

Erika cast him a glare, and Sealand shook his head. "That list of the dead is just as easily a list of people I couldn't save."

"Please stop blaming yourself," said Tino, but Sealand didn't say anything else in return.

Arthur stood up and seemingly forced a grin. "Well, if you all don't want to help, that's fine, but I would like very much to use these powers for good rather than survival. Would anyone like to join me?"

Alfred quickly raised his hand, but a glare shot him down. Matthew cast Gilbert a sort of sad glance before mouthing "call me later" and walking over to Arthur's side. Lukas joined them as well, but him and Sealand were the only ones.

Despite making a movement towards the front door, Arthur was stopped by Sealand whispering "Hey, I can just teleport you-"

"Really? That would be fantastic."

A flash of light, and Alfred couldn't quite believe his own surroundings until he ran into the countertop while wiping his glasses off. It was home, his home, his brothers' home.

Everything looked just as they had left it, down to the note on the fridge Matthew had left for their parents. Seems they hadn't been home in the past few weeks, no surprise there.

Arthur let out a dazed laugh. "Wow, this place… Sort of never thought I would see it again."

"I didn't think you would see it either," Matthew softly added.

"Why not, had that little faith in your big brother?"

Even if Arthur said it rather lightly, Matthew didn't take it as such. "Oh, can't imagine why I might think that. Maybe because you let us think you'd been killed or kidnapped or abandoned up before revealing you had been kidnapped and then that you lied about that to trap some innocent kids?"

"Are you still hung up on that?", Arthur questioned. "I told you, it was all to protect-"

It was too late, Matthew had already begun to storm back to his bedroom. Arthur called out after him, but a door slam cut him off.

And Arthur sighed and sat down on one of the barstools. "That doesn't make it better, does it?", he muttered.

"Not really," said Alfred. "I mean, that was kind of not okay."

"Go talk to him, won't you?", Arthur requested. "We'll take care of the protocols, you just go tell him I'm sorry or something."

That sounded a bit more like "go away we need to do things without you" than he would have liked. But he really wasn't in the mood to work out strategy either, so he did as he was asked.

Alfred approached his brother's room carefully. Even if he was just curled up on his bed clutching that bear he'd had for longer than he could remember, it was kind of obvious that Matthew was still sort of fuming.

He knocked on the doorframe a few times before entering. "Hey, Mattie?"

His twin turned and looked almost relieved. "Oh, it's just you," he muttered. "Is he mad at me?"

"Not at all!" Before Matthew could pretend like he could object, Alfred plopped down beside him on the bed, the pillows jumping a bit as he practically dove onto the bed. "Uh, he said to say he was sorry?"

"Don't care."

A moment of awkward silence. "You worried?", Alfred asked his twin.

A small "eh…" was the only answer provided.

"Sure we don't know what we're up against, but when has that ever stopped us before?"

"I'm pretty sure that's how you lost Feliciano and Kiku," Matthew muttered.

"If you don't want to go-"

Matthew sort of sighed. "I don't have a choice. Francis, and you and Arthur, I can't leave you alone."

"We're not gonna blame you if you don't wanna come," Alfred assured him. "And I'm sure Francis will be fine even if-"

"No, that's not it," he corrected. "It's all that stuff in that journal Francis showed us. It sounded like he cared about all of us before we died again. And, the other night I had this funny dream. Me and Germany, we were talking about something, about Prussia, I think. And The Netherlands, I remember something about him."

"Do we know a Netherlands?", Alfred questioned. He knew he wasn't great at remembering things, but that didn't sound familiar.

Matthew shook his head. "That's why. There are people who were once my friends who I haven't met yet, people who could be suffering that were important to me. And I won't let them die, or at least not in vain."

Something, maybe pride swelled in Alfred's chest. His brother sounded like a real hero, like he could be spouting all that our while standing next to Captain America and Iron Man. The hug tackle he gave Mattie was contested with a "get off me" that sounded more customary than meaningful.

They didn't say much more about it that night. Alfred found himself deciding to not bother with going back to his own bed and just sort of fell asleep on Mattie's floor. They talked about other things, like how much it sucked that Lovi didn't remember him and how sweet it was that Sealand's parents were happy finally and how Lukas was kind of creepy actually and how Batman could probably beat Superman in a fight if he had Kryptonite. But Arthur rarely came up, and Francis could wait until whenever everyone decided they were done planning.

Probably he drifted off without noticing at some point, because the next thing he remembered was Matthew's phone ringing and jolting him awake. The light from it filled the room as his brother put it on speaker and gave a sleepy "Gil, this isn't what I meant by 'call me later'."

"Eh, I know. Hello, sweetie."

Matthew groaned. "Never call me that again."

"Sorry, couldn't resist. Yeah, that sounds lame. There some sort of more manly term of endearment out there? Like 'my cute little gunshark'?"

"Gunshark. Sure. Why are you calling, it's two in the morning?"

"Ah, well, let's just say you were totally right about that whole 'we need to do something' thing?" Gilbert hesitated before seeming to ask someone away from the phone "uh, what else?"

"Allow me," a voice that sounded simultaneously chillingly familiar and not at all offered. "Hello, Canada. Sorry to bother you so late, but-"

"Who is this?", Matthew questioned with a yawn.

The speaker chuckled. "Yes, sorry. I don't think we've met. I'm Ivan Braginsky, but you can call me Russia if you'd rather. I need to share some information with you all. How quickly can you be over here?"

"Five minutes!", Alfred thoughtlessly proclaimed, pulling himself to his feet. "Just let me get Sealand…"

* * *

 _ **AN- I've been looking forward to Sealand and England's inevitable meeting for a very long time now. But hey, that's not the main takeaway from this chapter. No, that would be that no one really wants to die except ACES plus Norway. Also that this is probably the most breathery chapter for a while.**_

 _ **CiaoFromItaly asked for a list of the dead, and since they have an account now, I could send it to them but other people might be wondering so I'll just leave it here. But to be honest, it would probably be easier to list the characters who are still alive. So, if not on this list, don't assume a character is alright, but don't count them out either… ;) Unless that character is named Iceland, Seborga, Ladonia, Rome, or Germania, because they're pretty darn dead. Or the character doesn't matter enough to the story to mention.**_

 _Italy_

 _Germany/Ludwig_

 _x_

 _Romano_

 _Prussia/Gilbert (and Gilbird)_

 _Spain/Antonio_

 _x_

 _America/Alfred_

 _Canada/Matthew_

 _England/Arthur_

 _Sealand_

 _Norway/Lukas_

 _x_

 _x_

 _Sweden/Berwald_

 _Finland/Tino_

 _Erika_

 _x_

 _Russia/Ivan_

 _Hungary/Elizaveta_

 _Austria/Roderich_

 _ **And how many characters are in this story? Quite a few, but I only count what, sixteen on the list of the living? Not every character I didn't list is dead, but I think you might be able to gather who is still among the living well enough. This list is already bordering on being a spoiler if you think for**_ **two** **_seconds, so I can't say much more. Well, one_ last **_**thing: I should probably just go ahead and say that the exclusion of a few characters mentioned before (Belgium, Netherlands, Seychelles, Molossia, Kugelmugel, and Hutt River) isn't a trick but a really they don't matter to the story thing. It's a little late for any of them to be able to help, after all…**_

 ** _(The X marks mean nothing too, they're only there to taunt you with the fact they are blank spaces where characters once went. =D)_**

 _ **Stay tuned next time for the first time since Arrossire that I've known exactly what to call a chapter well ahead of time! It's a cutesy sounding chapter name for a chapter that's far from cutesy, but I trust it'll make sense once you read it. After all, it's quite fitting for the viewpoint character, da? -Twilight Joltik**_


	59. P9- Clover Club

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter Nine- Clover Club_

And so it came to pass that Ivan finally saw himself as truly unforgivable.

Yes, perhaps that had been the case for quite some time. How many agents had joined due to his actions? Countless, and perhaps he'd a thing or two to do with the deaths of a few that didn't join, but he'd never directly killed an ally.

Yao's body had been laced with the flames Poland bore and the sandstone Turkey used, but his own spears of ice had drawn the most blood. And it had even further been his blocking that stripped him of the power to heal or be safe from such a blow, making it fairly definitively his fault.

Odd how that simple distinction, that he had done it with his own hands to an ally, made him feel so vile. Latvia, Taiwan, he had simply been following orders, fighting against the dissenters. And yes, while Yao was a dissenter, he'd also been a person, with a name that couldn't be found on a globe and an identity beyond sparks flying from a weapon.

Katyusha had offered him hugs and assurances that it wasn't his fault, but he kindly brushed those off. He just told her he was fine and went to a distant corner, the place he'd take Natalia when she would get caught up in tears so she wouldn't be embarrassed that others saw her weakness. Truly, he went for the very same reason.

And if any action was more unforgivable than murder, it was leaving everyone alone. He knew consequences would come for them letting the HRE and his friends go free. But it was what they owed Yao, and Ivan would face whatever punishment came of that, so long as he could gather himself enough to face it without that lingering guilt.

He told himself that he could return just as soon as he talked himself out of feeling bad. It hadn't taken long before, but it wasn't coming quite as easily. It's for the good of everyone. It will protect Katyusha and Na- no, and Toris. Even if it isn't undisputedly heroic like he was once foolish enough to believe, it was the only right answer there was.

But as he faced the wall, breathing in the musty sickness he was quite used to after however long he'd been there, he couldn't hear his own reassurances. He could only barely hear the voices coming from elsewhere in the building. Only a distant conversation that had been bounced off those same walls ages ago.

 _"I'm… a little scared."_

 _"Oh? But why now? You've done so well so far!"_

 _"Big brother, what did they mean by 'detaining' me?"_

 _"You don't need to worry about that. I won't let it happen, just don't take anything else."_

 _"But… I'm hungry. I need food. And they have enough, don't they?"_

 _"..."_

 _"Say something, dammit! You're supposed to be making me feel better!"_

 _"Ah, sorry. You can have some of my food if you ever get too hungry."_

 _"But you need that! Can't we just all have enough?"_

 _"Maybe someday…"_

 _"That's not enough. I get hungry now, we all do!"_

 _"I'm sorry I can't help you more, Natalia."_

 _"Ugh, I just want to have a choice here, is that too much to ask?"_

He hadn't said it that night, but it was too much to ask. He'd learned that the moment he met Flying Mint Bunny that his fate had been spelled out centuries years ago by a person he could never meet, a person he was supposed to be. First he was to act on the will of his people, then he died and returned to act on the will of a leader he'd never even properly met. There wasn't a choice in the actions.

But, no, there was a choice, as China had proved. Even though he'd been recruited and made to fight against people he cared about, Yao hadn't cooperated. He'd fought on his own terms. He'd died defiant.

Something of that filled him with a bit of hope. And he'd made a choice too, to let Yao's will play out instead of the leader's.

God, he wished he could have made that decision while he was still with the others. But once he returned to say his feelings clearly there was nothing left.

No one left.

Blood was left. Not just where Yao had fallen but across the walls and all over the floor and in several halls.

Numb confusion echoed with his footsteps. What had happened? Had there been a fight after all? And where had everyone gone?

The lights were flickering, adding to the unease and the sick feeling in his stomach. He was too afraid to call out, for fear of whatever had left so much blood returning. What should he do, hide? Run? Look for everyone?

He eventually decided on trying to look for someone, because even if something terrible had happened or was there, he would rather know what it was and not be alone.

So his voice echoes through the empty halls. "Hello? Is anyone still here?"

But no one came. He was talking to bloodstains so incomprehensible that he couldn't tell what it had come from. Smears and splatters with no clear origin, but there seemed to be a bright light just outside of his-

"Ah!"

Something burning hot hit the side of his face. The metal pipe appeared in his hands without thought, and he scanned for the origin of the attack.

But before he could detect it, something metallic and sharp grazed his side. The flickering lights and the shadow of an open door obscured whoever it was attacking him, and neither attack felt familiar. From friendly crossfire and true fights, he was familiar with the powers of nearly everyone, but both the weapon and the flames were unfamiliar.

Starting closer to the door, he caught some faint movement. A quiver, and another burst of flame kissed his cheek once more. A feeble cry, "G-go away! Whatever you are, you-you can't take us!"

"Us?", he repeated, and the voice started to sound familiar but in a higher pitch strained by panic. "Poland? Is that you?"

A heavy sigh was let out, followed by an apology in an unknown voice. "Oh, thank god. You aren't- oh, right, sorry we attacked you."

Ivan peeked behind the door to find the speaker was someone he sort of recognized as once one of their prisoners but couldn't place the name of. He looked quite a bit like Lithuania, but with a few odd little hair curls and an expression that was less perpetually drained and more just sleepy. Poland was standing beside him, now glaring at Ivan with fists curled.

"It's just fine, very sorry I scared you," he hastily apologized.

Poland's eyes darted up to his cheek, where traces of his fire still burned. His eyes looked very pointedly away as his hand rested lightly on that place. Though he couldn't quite see what he was doing, a soft red light danced at the edge of his vision and the pain got rapidly worse and then rapidly better.

Once Poland had drawn his hand back and stepped back while maintaining his scowl, Ivan touched his cheek, finding no trace of any burn there whatsoever. So his healing powers worked on more than just himself? Switzerland had mentioned that he'd seemed to attempt to heal Lithuania after he'd been shot up for his insubordinance, but he'd not thought anything of it, especially when Poland denied all knowledge of the action.

Ivan started to thank him, but he was cut off. "You lied about Toris," Poland muttered, his voice oddly raw. "He- he's dead, you know."

The words stung, but he somehow knew they weren't wrong. He'd known his death was imminent, and that would have certainly explained how Yao ended up with his catalyst. But he hated to think that Lithuania couldn't be saved, wasn't able to be saved. He was such a lovely person, such a lovely… well, coworker if he was being honest.

But Poland, no, Feliks, he was only here to save his friend. "I'm sorry, this means you're here for no reason, yes?"

"Yes, it does," he huffed, but that bitter tone was less pronounced.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm glad you're here," the other one offered. "That way if those things come back, you can heal us if they try to kill us."

"Thanks, Heracles," Feliks practically breathed, but Ivan was left with a single, burning question.

"Who is trying to kill us?"

Both of them looked at him like he was crazy, and Heracles let out a breathy chuckle. "You- how did you miss that?", Feliks questioned.

Ivan simply shrugged.

"Ah, well, um, there were these… honestly, I have no idea what they were, but I was sort of hiding somewhere and this… well, I know it sounds crazy, but it looked a lot like Toris's cousin Raivas, but I know he died, so it couldn't have been him. It was all green and weird, though, so maybe he was a zombie or something? But his eyes were really green and glowy, so, really no idea, but it tried to kill me with knives, and it probably would have if Heracles hadn't knocked it back and it retreated I guess."

"Don't overplay my role," added Heracles. "Yeah I knocked it back but to be fair I think it was about to do that anyways."

Feliks shook his head. "Well, whatever, point is that I'm guessing that thing and whatever other ones it brought were what killed everyone."

"Killed?" Ivan repeated the word. It sounded very wrong.

"Well, and made off with the bodies, maybe? Honestly I have no clue but I know I saw more of those," Heracles explained. "And they wouldn't reply when I tried to talk to them, hence why we knew you were real."

That sounded… scary. And a monster that looked like sweet little Latvia? How dreadful. But he didn't get to say much of this, as a familiar flash around his wrist stopped his thoughts from going anywhere beyond "Why am I being called out now?". Feliks and Heracles stared at him as he took a step back and let familiar light rend his body from the current base and place it elsewhere.

When it cleared, he found an oddly nostalgic feeling come over him. It had put him in a familiar base, one with concrete floors and the scent of formaldehyde. The first he and his sisters had been brought to, where Ivan had become Russia for good.

The room he was in was also familiar, it was the very one he'd been told about his powers properly in. It seemed smaller than it had, but it looked just the same. Headset on the table, three chairs by the headset, closed door on the right-

No, wait, the door on the right was slightly open. He put the headset on like he had quite a few times before, when there wasn't enough staff for a mission briefing to come from elsewhere, but his attention was hardly on the words streaming through his ears.

"Russia, you are needed at-"

As mechanical and fake as ever, the leader's false voice came out, but a slight glow of slickly green came from the ajar door. Ivan edged closer to it, nervous he'd be reprimanded for it.

"The status of Elizaveta Hedervary as a nation has been confirmed, but-"

No reprimand came, so he opened the door a bit more fully and was stunned briefly by an overwhelming green glow. But as it faded, he was stunned more by the sickness that crept up on him.

The scent of formaldehyde became stronger, black spots dancing in front of his eyes.

Green tanks of fluid, not disimilar to the one the HRE was in lined the room.

What seemed to be a corpse floated idly in each of them, skin ranging from sickly green to practically rotting off the body.

He recognized almost every corpse by name. Latvia. Estonia. Turkey. Korea. Taiwan. Moldova. Australia. New Zealand. The list went on.

Yao.

Katyusha.

Natalia.

No sign of Toris, oddly enough, but everyone else, decaying in bubbling green fluid...

God, he was going to be sick. Was this why they were never allowed to see the bodies after someone died? Because they were to be preserved like this?

Ah, but that wasn't even the disturbing part. Each pair of eyes was wide open, irises shining with an unnatural shade of green.

It was what Feliks had described, the thing in Latvia's image that had attacked him. Shining green eyes, corpse-like.

The voice in the headset said something about Austria, but he was beyond caring. He felt on the verge of blacking out, but he couldn't let himself look away. His friends, his comrades, his sisters. Their bodies had become tools of war, even when they themselves were long dead.

And god, Katyusha had died too? And already was being preserved? But it hadn't been more than half an hour, surely? So quickly, how was this-?

White filled his vision, and he thought for a second he was about to collapse until it faded and showed a very nice looking, if not rather small house. Right, the mission. He had a feeling he shouldn't have seen all that, but were the corpses a warning of what would become of him if he didn't complete this task?

Well, his two favorite people were among those corpses, and he'd much rather join them than do something on their killer's behalf. So he instead went up to the door and knocked politely. He could easily warn his targets that someone else, probably Feliks or Heracles would be after them after he was executed.

A man with dark, combed back hair opened the door and scowled over the top of his glasses at him. "Excuse me, but there is a sign saying 'No Soliciting' in our yard for a reason," the man huffed, gesturing to a sign sticking out of the dying grass.

"No, I'm not selling you anything," Ivan assured him, catching his elbow in the slamming door to prevent its closing. "I just need to warn you about something. Is there an Elizabeth here?"

"Elizaveta," corrected a woman's voice, and hurriedly, a rather pretty lady came to the door, with a serious expression across her brow.

"Ah, well, you see, I've been asked by my boss to capture you and Austria but I refuse to take that order because its giver killed my sisters, so as soon as I'm taken away to be killed, it's likely my friend Feliks or maybe Heracles will come after you instead. So-"

"Feliks?", Elizaveta repeated. "Feliks Lukasiewicz?"

Ivan wasn't too sure, but there was a hint of desperation in her voice, so he nodded.

Elizaveta let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank god. Gilbert said something had happened to him, but he wouldn't say anything else. Is he alright?"

Alright was a strong word, but he supposed he could say that. "Ah, yes."

She smiled, but the man beside her looked completely dumbfounded. "Excuse me, but what?", he exclaimed.

"I explained this to you," Elizaveta huffed. "I'm Hungary or something and Gilbert's magic too and Feliks is Poland, I believe and Gil's new boyfriend is Canada and precious little Feli is Italy but he's a bit out of it right now."

A few blinks. "I thought you were telling me about a game you were playing," he said. "Also, since when is Gilbert dating anyone, let alone someone from Canada? Are you sure he didn't just tell you that to get you off his case about fixing him up with someone?"

"I- ugh, I'll explain later!", Elizaveta exclaimed, and turned back to Ivan. "So, you said you were going to be killed?"

"Most likely, yes."

"How can I stop that? I need you to tell me where Feliks is, and I don't want you to die on me, alright?"

Ivan held the transporter device on his wrist out. "Ah, well, this will pull me back so they can kill me but I haven't a clue how to remove it."

Bright light shone around Elizaveta and she was quickly wearing a green dress and holding a frying pan, as the other man stared at her. She gently took Ivan's hand and then smashed down on it with said frying pan, nearly breaking his wrist in the process.

The device fell in pieces to the ground. "Well, that's one way to do it," Ivan muttered.

"Lovely, so can you explain what happened to Feliks while I call my friend Gilbert so he can help?"

* * *

 _ **AN- Get it? It's called Clover Club because the three characters at the end are the Clubs Kingdom in Cardverse. Yeah, I'm lame but I like that song too much to not do this. Also, yay, Poland and Greece aren't dead but pretty much everyone else is! Also we know for sure what's up with the thing from the last Parallel!**_

 _ **Also, good news, I'm on Summer Break, meaning that writing is about the only thing I have to worry about! But, this might not necessarily mean more frequent updates for this story. Actually, it means I have time to start work on another Hetalia story I've been sitting on for a while.**_

 _ **Why do I mention this here? Because quite a few of the characters that were sort of on the sidelines in this story will be more in the spotlight. For instance, Seborga and Romania are alive and well, in fact they're main characters alongside Romano, Greece, and Italy.**_

 _ **I won't go into the whole sphele here, but the story's structure is going to be something new for me. Instead of having one single long story that switches between characters, it will be a prologue that splits into five interconnected stories. Not sure if I'll publish them all seperately or just list them as one entity, but I want for the five stories to be able to be read in any order, so the former is more likely. Each of the stories will focus on a different group of characters, so hopefully this will deter me from killing off anyone's favorite character before the story even starts this time. But just because they're alive doesn't mean they'll be okay. In fact, far from it, because what fun would it be if everyone was happy and healthy?**_

 _ **I'll also be trying to use unusual character friendships and pairings in it, and I'm open to suggestions. Some things in the plot might prevent certain ones, but really, I'm open to any ideas (especially for platonic relationships), no matter how out there or obscure, since Magitalia focused largely on common relationships, with some exceptions named RoNor and Romerica. Seriously, I've already decided to use Lithuania and Romano as a key relationship, I'm open to literally anything.**_

 _ **So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	60. Red Water Green Glow

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty Two- Red Water Green Glow_

Prussia- no, Gilbert- fairly nonchalantly mentioned that "Liz" was coming over without clarifying who that was, leaving Italy confused. He felt really bad after asking around and finding that meant Hungary.

"I told her what was going on," Gilbert assured him, awkwardly adding. "She's nice, you'll like her."

"But I already know Hungary," Italy countered. "I grew up with her at Mister Austria's house."

Unsurprisingly, no one had the slightest idea what he was talking about. Ludwig tried to be helpful, kindly informing him that she was their teacher and a friend of Gilbert's, but that knowledge just seemed dismissive. So they weren't as close this time around? The closest thing he'd ever had to a mother was simply a mutual acquaintance and teacher? God, some of this really hurt his head.

However, it was several hours before "Liz" actually arrived, leaving Gilbert awkwardly eyeing the door and assuring them it would be "any minute now" for so long that he'd ended up falling asleep well before "any minute now" came. Or at least, he was pretty sure he fell asleep because he wasn't sure how else to explain the time jumping from ten to one so quickly or how his necklace ended up resting on the arm of Ludwig's end of the couch.

Also before "any minute now" came he attempted to get a bit more used to Feliciano's friends rather than his own. There was an uncanniness to it all, with how just slightly off they acted, but they were kind and clearly trying their best to figure out what to make of him. The creeping feeling that he was leeching off of the friends of the person he'd erased remained, but he kept it at bay as best he could.

After all, Germany believed he wasn't bad, right? Or Ludwig did, who he could easily be deceiving. Or maybe he was seeing through it with how suddenly hesitant he became to physical contact. But Prussia trusted him, right? Even if Gilbert could just be going off his little brother's faulty judgement. And Spain, er, Antonio, well his smiles seemed ever so slightly off and he divided his time trying to offer assistance between him and his brother.

Perhaps none of them were making him feel like anything less than an empty lie, but Romano at least was. If Veneziano was too nervous to say something that confused him, Romano would probably bring it up and force an answer out of someone. He learned a lot of little details like this, like what names he should call certain people (America was Alfred, England was Arthur, and Sealand was just Sealand and wasn't human) or where things were (the silverware was in the second drawer from the refrigerator and the bathroom was right off the living room in the little hall where the guest bedroom was).

Selfishly, he was incredibly happy that Romano was in the same boat as him. He hated that "Lovino" had to be hurt, but Veneziano felt so much better knowing he wasn't alone. Really, if he had to choose someone to be lost in a half remembered life with, Romano would be his first and only choice. Even if it would have been nice to have other people too, even if he hated being isolated from Germany and Seborga and Japan being as good as dead, he was glad it was his big brother.

Selfish but grateful for every bit of help thrown his way; confused but with a better memory of the past than anyone else; alive but in a body that may or may not have a dead owner; Italy had no idea what to make of himself. But he did know one thing: no one was very happy with Gilbert when at nearly two in the morning Hungary- er "Liz" finally showed up, stringing with her a man that had to without doubt be Austria and-

"Stand down!", Ludwig exclaimed as Russia of all people entered the house, and his body was quickly eaten up by a white light that upon fading revealed someone who was more definitively Germany. He looked a bit older, his eyes were less of a blue-grey and more the sky color he remembered. Right, transformations linked the human form and the nation form, he knew this, and the weapon that appeared in his hand confirmed it.

Austria looked incredibly alarmed by the sudden act of hostility, even more than Russia did. In fact, Russia pretty much just took a single look at Germany and smiled in a manner that was simultaneously kind of cute and creepy. So, pretty much in his normal manner. "Hello, Germany. It's nice to see you, but I don't plan on fighting you. Not today, at least."

Germany just gave a flat "what" before Hungary stepped in front of Russia and made some attempts to ease the tensions.

"Please relax, Ludwig. Ivan's not going to hurt you; he's a friend and I just thought he could explain some things better than I could."

"Thank you, miss Elizaveta," Russia, or rather Ivan stated, his even brighter grin towering over his "protector".

He was seemingly going to say more, but Gilbert cut him off. "Liz, you didn't say you were bringing anyone. And didn't you say you didn't want Roddi to know about all this?"

Elizaveta shrugged. "No, not necessarily, and besides, he's probably Austria, so it's kinda pointless to hide it."

"Wait, Austria?" Gilbert stared at Austria or whatever his human name was for a good ten seconds before laughing. "Okay, I can buy that. Always all stuffy about all that music stuff, that's an Austria thing, right?"

Austria sighed in a way that indicated he was very much used to it. "Gilbert, this isn't a time to be making fun of me. We need to-"

"To explain why Russia is here, perhaps," Germany blurted out, cutting him off. "Because that seems quite important."

Russia/Ivan/whoever he was nodded in agreement. "Yes, that seems pretty important. I'm happy to explain if you'll put your weapons down."

Another flash of light, and Germany was definitively Ludwig once more. But Elizaveta stopped Russia before he could launch entirely into the story. "Are you sure you're alright to talk about this? I can talk if you'd rather."

Yep, this "Liz" was the same Hungary he remembered, even if try as he might he couldn't recall her being close at all to Russia.

"I'm fine, I need to explain this myself," Russia assured them. "But, ah, I should warn you, this isn't a happy story."

Antonio sort of laughed. "Yeah, we really haven't had a whole lot of those around here lately."

"Oh, well, I guess you knew that already then. So, you were there when Yao died, were you not?"

Yao? Who was that? China, maybe? But no, China wouldn't have died, China was really strong. Regardless, someone mentioned that really only Gilbert and Ludwig were there and Russia nodded and went on.

"So, I was feeling quite bad, like I'd killed him myself, so I stepped away and next thing I knew everyone had vanished. Well, everyone but Feliks and ah, Heracles? I think that was his name."

Italy was tempted to let out a sigh of relief. So France really had gotten everyone out? Well, besides Poland and Greece, and that wasn't good, but they were fine at least, right?

"Well, anyways, that's not the important part. The important part is right after that I got teleported to another base to take an assignment, but there was a door open where I was and, well, it was full of…"

He hesitated, clearing his throat, and Hungary cast him a concerned glance that he smiled off. Italy started to suspect he was wrong about France being successful.

"Well," Ivan continued, his cheeriness notably wavering. "It was full of dead bodies, almost everyone I knew to have died in our company and then some. And they were all hooked up to machines full of green gel, and practically rotting away in there."

"So like the one Fe- Italy was hooked up to?", Ludwig inquired.

Hesitation, but ultimately Russia denied it. "Ah, not really. Before we parted, Feliks told me he'd been attacked by a glowing green zombie creature that resembled someone we both knew to have been long dead. And his description perfectly matched the bodies I found, so I presume that's what they were."

Silence, dead silence. Not even the slightest breath, but it took Italy a moment to realize why. Russia had just said something pretty horrific, hadn't he? Their dead bodies were being turned into mindless zombies? Well, that was bad, but even Ludwig seemed horrified, why was that? It was just their bodies, after all, not them.

But something rang in his mind, something he'd been sure he'd forgotten. A train station, a gap between the living and the dead. Iceland, he was waiting there for some people. He was waiting for the dead, but no one was coming. Even further, Seborga had seemed too alone in his realm of blue water. Other micronations were dead too, but he couldn't recall seeing a single other person besides himself and Romano.

Could it be that it was more than just their bodies being turned monsters? But even the spirits of the dead, was that what was happening?

Very abruptly, Gilbert started laughing. "Okay, that's funny, but like, no, that- that's stupid. Why the hell would there be zombies? I mean we're already Sailor Scout Avengers or whatever, but zombies? No, that's not-"

"He's telling the truth!", Italy blurted out, and all eyes were set squarely on him. Gulping, he tried to find the words to explain himself. "Um, my visions, anyone remember the red water place? Where we ended up before getting reincarnated?"

Even worse silence, but hesitantly, Russia muttered something about it sounding familiar.

"Okay, so I saw Iceland there, but no one else, and Iceland said he'd been waiting for some people for a long time but they weren't coming. But if a bunch of people had already died, they should have been there, right?"

More staring. Yeah, no one had any idea what he was saying. Once again, he was beyond grateful for Roma.

"Yeah, I remember that too," Romano added. "Whenever we die, we end up at this place filled with red water before we come back. It's hard to explain, but it just sort of happens, alright? And when my idiot little brother was stumbling around in that damn machine, he sort of tripped and ended up there with Norway's little brat brother but no one else was there. Super weird, because a lot of people should have been there. Everyone who's died, in fact. But it was just him."

"Given that his body was likely the only one destroyed, that almost makes sense," admitted Ludwig. "But that would mean that-"

A pause as the realization caught up to everyone else. "Their souls are still trapped?", Russia finished. "I was thinking just the same, considering from what I heard they still seemed to have their powers to some degree. I suppose that means they're still in there somewhere, but they're trapped in the puppets their bodies have become."

"So everyone- Kiku, Erika's brother, Francis, Yao; everyone's met that fate?", Ludwig questioned, almost too flatly.

"Kiku? That's Japan, right? I don't think he was there, oddly enough, neither was the cute little girl's big brother or France or Lithuania. But I can confirm Yao was there."

Something resembling hope flashed in Ludwig's eyes. "Kiku… wasn't there?"

"Now now, that may just mean he wasn't dead quite yet, or that he was in a different room, or I simply overlooked him," Ivan corrected. "I hate to get your hopes up, but I doubt it means much. Quite a few people weren't there, Finland, England, Norway..."

"The three of them are all alive, though," said Ludwig.

"Oh? Well, that's quite nice. Means we have more reinforcements!"

Reinforcements? What was he talking about? No one else seemed to really know either, it seemed, but Elizaveta clarified: "Well, we figured you all would want to do something about it."

"Look, that's really terrible and all, but we shouldn't try to end up like that," Antonio practically apologized.

Romano, in response, glared and countered his arugment rather loudly. "Oh, and you don't think you will? Only chance we really have of not ending up like that is getting to the bottom of this and taking out whoever's in charge!"

"But-"

"No buts, and I thought you said the Rose Bastard was your friend! You're gonna let him spend the rest of eternity crying out inside his own mind while being forced to kill?"

Gilbert smiled pretty broadly as Antonio slowly nodded. "Wow, for once I agree with you, Lovi- er, 'Mano."

"Besides, if there's a chance Kiku could be saved, I would gladly take it," Ludwig added. "I'm on board for this as well. Italy?"

Wait, did he even need to say it? Was it not obvious already? "Well yeah, of course I'm all for helping!", he exclaimed. "I know what that feels like, I don't want anyone else to have to go through that and I don't want to let anything happen to Japan or France!"

"Lovely, so we're all in agreement," said Ivan. "So, those reinforcements, shall we get them on board?"

Gilbert held up his phone. "On it!", he exclaimed.

Italy couldn't tell who he was talking to, but it seemed kind of… flirty. Something about gunsharks. And Russia took over halfway in to tell whoever it was to meet them in a few minutes. Said few minutes were filled by a rather awkward conversation between Austria and Prussia. Something to the effect of:

"So you are dating someone."

"Eh, wouldn't call it dating. More like he made out with me when I thought we were all gonna die to make me shut up."

"I like him already."

The others, namely America, Canada, England, Sealand, and Norway showed up within a few minutes, and Sealand vanished briefly and returned with Sweden and Finland in tow. Russia explained things to them even quicker and more bluntly, with Romano adding the part about Iceland and the red water. Once it was done, their reactions seemed a bit more varied than the flat astonishment shared by most everyone the first go.

Well, America, Canada, and Sweden seemed flatly astonished and horrified, yes, but Sealand pretty much burst into sobs released into Finland's shirt while Finland, along with England and Norway looked fairly unsurprised by it all as if they'd expected as much. And in fact, the first to speak was Finland, who said as much.

"Can't say that's any worse than what I thought was going on. And it explains a lot. God, I just have to wonder, was Mathias-?"

"Oh, Denmark? Yes."

Russia's casual answer seemed to knock down his serenity a peg.

"And Vlad- er, Romania. He was among them as well, right?"

For a moment, Russia started blankly at him as if trying to remember before shaking his head. "No, actually. I didn't see him. Odd, isn't it? But he must have been there, perhaps I just overlooked him?"

"Perhaps so," Norway muttered. "But, it's just as likely that-"

"Let it go, Lukas," Finland seemed to almost plead. "He's dead, even if he's a zombie thing now, that won't change the fact that your friend died a long time ago."

Norway turned to face Finland and took a few steps forward. "I am well aware," he stated. "That makes no difference to me. The only way to keep him alive now is to fight for his sake and the sake of everyone else we've lost, isn't it? And if you try to stop me-"

"I wouldn't dream of it," said Finland with a small, almost sad smile. "And I can't say I'm not on board. Mathias should be put to rest as well, right?"

Sweden looked between the two of them before sighing. "If you three all insist on this, I'll not be letting you go alone."

"Three?", Finland repeated.

Sealand looked up at him and nodded. "I'm going too, you'll need me."

"But where are we going?", England questioned. "If the Monade Building is abandoned, where is it we need to-"

"I know the place," Ivan assured them. "I can lead you there fairly easily."

An odd smirk. "Well, I think Plan C will work well here," England- wait, Arthur reported.

"Plan C?", questioned Alfred. "What's Plan C?"

"We go in two groups; one of them goes on ahead and the other hangs back as reinforcements I can grab if things get bad," Sealand explained. "So, who wants to be the reserve?"

* * *

 _ **AN- I'll just cut it off there. That can wait until next chapter… No wait, next chapter won't be that. Next chapter will be the final Parallel chapter. Yes, the last one. Of the entire story. And oh sweet Doitsu have I been looking forward to that particular chapter since the moment I thought of it. Only hint I'll give you is this: the first mirrors the last. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_

 ** _PS, I noticed this, and I know this is going to bother someone if I don't explain it, but Russia acts like a few hours have passed since Italy got broken out of the machine while Germany seems to imply it's been a few days. Um, let's just say that Russia blacked for a while before taking commands at the place. Yeah. Let's go with that. Totally a thing I planned and not just a bout of fridge logic._**


	61. P10- Symposium Magarum

_Magitalia_

 _Parallel Chapter Ten- Symposium Magarum_

Flames burned at Toris's side, clawing away at another, deeper pain. Perhaps that was what woke him up, but he couldn't be sure.

What he could be sure of was that the place he was and the place he remembered being were very different. Vaguely, he could remember the past in a cool wind and a cloudy sky, but mostly that Feliks had been there.

Right, right, he had decided to throw his oppression to the ground and forget what consequences might come from it because he was profoundly happy, profoundly human, profoundly alive in a single moment.

And it had ended as quickly as it had come. Someone had attacked him, and now he was in what seemed to be a laboratory of sorts, laying on some sort of table, judging by the stiff pain and the profound lack of anything even resembling cushion against his back. All sorts of equipment he didn't quite recognize or know the name of littered the small space, or at least what he could see of it. The scent of something he wanted to say was formaldehyde filled the air, adding to the sick feeling it brought to his stomach.

There were only a few sources of light. Glowing tubes of some liquid that resembled a strange cross between gelatin and soda water. A sickly green, mostly, but with some red or orange that gave the green a grey hue. The glows gave the shining metal surfaces their tints, leaving the whole room a sort of dull green accented by heavy shadows.

Someone stood in the midst of all the shadows, and it looked like they were wearing a long grey coat and a bracelet that let off a blinking light but it was incredibly hard to tell anything else about them. They seemed occupied with a large sphere filled with the liquid, turned away from him so their face wasn't visible.

Only reassurance came from the fact he didn't recognize the silhouette on sight. No flowing scarf, but also no cape or anything to say this person was an ally.

His head was pounding dully, but he tried to look over to see if anyone else was present. If Feliks or Eduard or someone else was also there, wherever it was. But it was something else that caught his eye: an IV bag filled with a liquid the same sickly shade that illuminated the room. Following the tube coming from it, a thin ribbon of thick, bubbling ooze led from the bag to his wrist, where he found something that made him let out a bit of an involuntary gasp.

There was some sort of metal clamp around his wrist, holding it firmly to the table. Its coldness, along with the same feeling on the other wrist became overpoweringly apparent. Almost automatically, his mind took inventory of his surroundings. Mysterious fluids. Odd tools. A hazy feeling in his mind and an ache behind his eyes. Wrist clamps. An operation table. Fluid being pumped into his veins. If this was a laboratory, then that would make him a test subject.

But his desperate questioning of what they might have done to him while he was out was interrupted by the other figure in the room suddenly turning around. He smiled slightly as their eyes met, but the smile looked less pleasant and more desperate. Perhaps it was his eyes, bloodshot and unnaturally wide that added it.

"You- you're awake?" The voice of the man sounded very familiar but it was hard to piece just where he'd heard it before together. Even as he came closer, closer- please don't come any closer- and the feeling of familiarity grew he was hard to place. But he made Toris's hair stand on end, between his strange grin and the impossibly dark circles under his eyes, which glowed a red too bright for the sick green surroundings.

A breathless chuckle. "Okay, wow, wasn't expecting that. Um, look up here, alrighty? Let me see your eyes."

Doing his very best to turn his eyes away from the man but unable to close them for fear of something worse happening while he wasn't looking, he found a hand pulling his chin towards his gaze once more. His stomach writhed along with the rest of his body, which was rather difficult given the restraints.

"Please… stop…", he managed to choke out in protest, and much to his surprise, the man let out a small noise of surprise and withdrew his hand quickly.

He turned away and started spitting out things he couldn't be sure were meant for his ears. "Still has cognitive functions, that's… well… um..."

Turning back around, he assumed an even wider grin, one less eerie and more manic, and his voice upped a few octaves. "Hey, look on the bright side, haven't really talked to anyone in ages! So, you've been around them all, right? How is everyone? Moldova's well? And Nor, he's doing alright after Iceland and all that?"

He wasn't sure if talking was a terrible idea or not. On one hand, it might distract him from whatever he meant to do to him, but on the other, if he said something incriminating to someone else, what would happen then? Feliks, he still had no idea if he was here or not, and Eduard could just as easily be in some form of danger as well. Those questions sounded harmless enough, but if they'd done something to him, would something else come out? That green liquid could easily be a truth serum or something to mess with his mind.

Perhaps he could compromise and ask a harmless question. "Who... are you?"

"Oh? Me?" He pouted. " Aw, we've met, 'member? Even if we never really fought together, we've talked before. I tried telling you about the resistance, you told me to stop endangering everyone…"

Resistance, the word sparked something in his memory. A red-eyed young man had once thrown the word around and vanished soon after it proved to be a futile struggle. But Romania had certainly died, right?

Clearly not, as the more he looked at the gaunt shadow of a person in front of him, the more certain he was that he was, or had been Romania. He tried to nod to show understanding of this, but the metal behind his head made this a bit difficult so he ended up just saying "I remember now" instead.

"Great! So, mind answering my question? How's everyone doing?"

Who had he been asking about again, Norway and Moldova? Truthfully, he barely knew them, so he just gave a dismissive answer. "Oh, they're… fine."

Romania gave him an annoyed look before turning back to the various tubes of green. "Oh, 'fine'? Well, that's good. And how was France doing?"

France wasn't exactly someone he could incriminate, save for maybe mentioning that he was practically the leader's second in command, but he still didn't want to give him anything. Besides, given the entirely metal room matched most bases he'd been dragged to, this had to be either a covert operation or ordered by the leader, so he almost certainly knew that too. "Er, well, he's fine? Sorry, I don't really know him very well."

A few different vials of that fluid were being dumped into a beaker, holding Romania's attention for a good ten seconds after he'd said his piece. He didn't even look up, but he flatly muttered "Interesting. Are you always this hard to talk to?"

Toris couldn't think of much to say that wouldn't come off as terribly sarcastic, which sounded like a terrible thing to be to a person who happened to possess dangerous chemicals that were probably being pumped into his bloodstream. So he remained silent and focused his attention on the straps on his wrist. Rusty metal, rather uncomfortable, but it seemed pretty weak. If he struggled enough, he could probably break it.

And if he strained his neck, he could see a little red button on the side of the table. Was that the release? He had to try it, and he could easily reach it if he could just get his wrist free.

It seemed Romania was more interested in the chemicals he was mixing than his struggling, but Toris's breath caught in his throat when in the middle of tapping one of the vials to get the last few drops of fluid out, he suddenly looked over at him. "I don't know why those weren't working on you," he almost seemed to apologize while gesturing to the IV bag beside his head. "I did everything they said to do, but you're still alive. Heck, you're more alive than you were when I got you. They're supposed to preserve your state but you've healed a bit."

Healed? He remembered how quickly the wound on Feliks's cheek had healed and shuddered. What happened to him, anyways? And how long had it been, the odd taste in his mouth told him it'd probably been at least a day but it could easily be more or less. And what was he talking about, why was he trying to kill him with those chemicals? He had to find out, but how?

Well, Romania seemed more than happy to chat, so perhaps he could just ask. Clearing his throat, he voiced a question that wouldn't sound too much like digging for information. "How long was I out?"

Hesitating, Romania sort of shrugged as he threw a palmful of glowing yellow crystals in the beaker. "I have no idea! Few weeks, probably, but I don't exactly have clocks in here, so I'm just guessing."

A few weeks? How much damage must have been done to his body in that time? No, how was he still alive without eating or drinking or anything through all that time?

"That's, um, kind of a long time," he remarked as he kept pulling at the wrist strap. He could definitely feel the space between his hand and the table getting wider. "Wait, you don't have clocks? Why's that?"

A flame flickered on from some device and Romania placed the beaker on it. "The leader never really thought I needed to know the time, I guess. Shame, would make the timing on some of these concoctions a lot easier."

Well, that ruled out his theory that this was some sort of revolution thing. "So you're working with the leader?"

Nodding, Romania pulled something off a shelf that was mostly obscured by the shadows. "Trust me, I'd literally rather die but when someone has a gun to the head of your little brother and all your friends, it's hard to argue!" His chipper tone was a stark contrast to the words and sounded more spiteful than upbeat.

A relatable feeling to be sure. "Oh, um, what exactly does he have you do?"

"As penance for my crimes the leader assigned me to his main project," he explained. "See, he wants to kill all us Countries off so he can use our powers and our bodies to make super soldiers for some war his species is fighting somewhere in outer space, kinda foggy on the details. So he needs to pump some pretty specific stuff in them to preserve their body and suppress any hints of free will reviving them would have stirred up, but he doesn't so much have time to do all that, so I'm in charge of making more of it when we run out and pumping all the corpses full of it."

It seemed the room's temperature dropped ten degrees in a single second. Toris couldn't hear his wrist banging against the metal over the pounding of his heart. So that was everyone's fate, was it? Belarus, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine; everyone who didn't do a thing to deserve being drafted would be rewarded by becoming nothing more than puppets for some alien. Even the alien part, that wasn't surprising. Could anyone of this earth be so callous to what was supposed to be its guardians, if Flying Mint Bunny was to be believed?

A question remained, though: "But if you need dead bodies, why am I alive?"

Romania rather pointedly did not answer. Instead, as he reached into some box with tweezers and pulled out something that was either pulsatile or gave out strange waves of light, perhaps both, and asked the last question he would have expected to be asked in a place like that. "Tell me, do you believe in love?"

"In… love?" The only answer he could come up with was a flat "What?"

"Do you think that the strength of a person's relationships hold power that can be manifested?", Romania clarified as he seemed to grab a knife and cut into the pulsating object.

Something about that explanation took him back to four years ago, when he'd still thought being Lithuania sounded heroic and fun on the courage of the rabbit's words. "Well, that's where we get our powers, right? With the catalysts?"

A dull splashing noise came from the beaker. "Exactly!"

"Well, I guess so, but why are you bringing this up?"

Practically tripping across the room, Romania plunged the beaker into what sounded like a tub of water. "Because, Lithuania, that's why you're not dead, best I can gather."

"Because of love?" What? What was this guy even talking about? He'd heard whispers of how mad the resistance members could be, but he'd never quite realized the extent of it. Or perhaps it was simply isolation that drove Romania into babbling.

Strangely, the explanation he received was at least a little sensical. "Well, because that friend of yours with healing powers went kinda overboard trying to save you after you got shot up. He didn't remember it when questioned, but Switzerland said he saw him trying to heal you to the point he blacked out himself. So your friend put some pretty powerful healing magic in your veins, and we're having a terrible time trying to get it out."

Logical explanations were one thing, but Feliks had saved him? No, Romania knew of Feliks? That was something else entirely. "Where is he?", Toris seethed.

Romania turned back towards him after rushing the beaker out of the water and back to the burner. "Your friend? Oh, he got out of our grasp pretty quickly. Still trying to protect you, from what I can tell." He added an almost playful chuckle. "It's really sweet, you know. You're lucky to have a friend like that."

"...thanks," Toris muttered, starting to doubt once more if Romania was completely put together. "But surely you could have just killed me, right? You said I was healing, so that implies I was still wounded and capable of being wounded."

Whatever he said didn't matter, as he heard a soft snapping noise and the restraint fell away with a loud clang that somehow Romania failed to notice. He could easily press the release at any moment, but perhaps he would do well to wait. After all, even if he escaped, he didn't have his catalyst, so he wouldn't easily be able to fight back.

A few little splashes indicated something else was added in the beaker, which was glowing an even brighter green and making a sound like boiling water. "True, yes, but leader said they wanted to experiment with some methods of converting live victims. Said you seemed a good test subject to start with, and we were so busy with all that HRE stuff that by the time it seemed it was gonna fall through we'd barely started with you."

Romania picked up the beaker once more and poured some of the hissing liquid into a small test tube- no, a syringe, and then grabbed the syringe and started towards him with an odd, rather melancholy but forcedly cheerful cry. "Aaand done! This should do the trick! Sorry to do this to you, you seem like a really nice person but…"

His finger lingered at the release and he silently prayed that it was the correct button. "If you're going to turn me into a mindless corpse, go ahead," he urged on. Just needed him close enough to quickly kick out before he could transform. "I'd rather it be quick."

For several seconds, the bloodshot, bright red, hollow eyes bore into him before Romania looked away. "I-I can't do this," he muttered in a shaky voice. Louder, as if not to him but to someone else, he exclaimed "I'm sorry, I can't hurt anyone."

He hesitated. Toris didn't want to attack someone who didn't want to hurt him, and surely the consequences would be dire for him if he let him escape. But Romania said he was fine with dying, right? And if the goal was for all of them to be corpse soldiers, then not even the people he wanted to protect could be saved by his actions. Futile rhetoric, useless words, he needed to protect himself, for Feliks and for Eduard and anyone else who could be saved.

The snapping sound of all the hinges snapping open rang through the room, and Romania turned back to him with an expression resembling amusement. It didn't last as he got kicked in the chest as Toris got up, but returned as white light filled the room and he pulled out a scythe.

"Maybe… I can knock you out, maybe I can do it then?" Romania swung the clumsy blade towards him, missing Toris's body but slashing the IV's catheter off his wrist. A sudden spell of dizziness overtook him, and he leaned against the table for a moment to let his head stop spinning.

Jumping out of the way just as another slash came his way, Toris rushed for a table of glowing tubes. It really looked like something Romania might be careful about attacking, so it made a good shield.

He could barely make out a door on the other side of the room, and he ducked through the shelves and glass, taking care not to touch anything and risk doing harm to himself with those chemicals that couldn't be countered with whatever protection Poland's healing had provided him. Romania's eyes tracked him, but no attempts were made to attack him.

The door, much to both his relief and surprise, was unlocked, and he rushed through it into another small room illuminated by a few bare bulbs dangling from the ceiling. Five or so more tables with restraints lined the walls, but a table in the center held a box with a few odd items sticking out of it. A stuffed panda, a necklace with a bell on it, a black bow…

Those items were all catalysts, were they not? Perhaps… Toris lunged for it, hearing footsteps not far behind him, and reached into the box, brushing a series of items aside. A white mask, a necklace with a carrot-shaped charm, a plastic rose- god, why was practically everyone's catalyst there? He even saw Eduard's glasses among them, did that mean he was dead or being tested on?

Eventually, he found a familiar bracelet of obnoxiously pink beads and charms and shoved it back on his wrist where it belonged. A warm light came from it, welcoming him back to Lithuania's body. He'd never been so happy to feel the shield and crossbow form in his hands.

Romania wasn't his enemy. But for everyone whose catalysts were in that box, everyone who had fallen, he needed to survive. Get out of there, find Feliks and anyone else who was still alive, warn them, do whatever he could. So with a deep breath, he shot a series of arrows at Romania.

It felt stronger, somehow, with the wave of determination falling over him. Maybe he had a point about the strength of emotion. Stumbling forward, Romania sent a few crimson blasts his way, which all fell across his shield.

Toris took a few steps backwards. There was another door behind him, and even if it was locked, surely he could find a way to blast through it. The building had to have an end, and he would find it. But as he went back, and Romania went forward, his opponent's eyes fell on the catalysts and his scythe vanished as he grabbed something out of the box.

A small hat, the one that Moldova always wore. Romania's eyes filled with tears as he saw it and he gave a dry chuckle. "I wasn't protecting anyone, was I?", he muttered. "I was going to kill you for nothing."

From Toris's own hands, a weight vanished, and he extended a weaponless hand to Romania. "They'll kill everyone, you said it yourself. What do you say we get out of here and save everyone we still can?"

Even though he reached towards him, Romania stumbled back and fell to the ground. The blinking bracelet on his wrist had pricked him with something, no doubt some sort of toxin, and his possible ally was left staring at the ceiling unblinkingly and breathing shallowly.

A voice like a machine pierced the air and crept up behind him. "Shame, he would have likely been the last to die. But I will finish those experiments and make quick work of him."

Toris looked around, tried desperately to find the source of the voice. The best he could come up with was the speaker haphazardly taped to the ceiling.

Something flickered at the edge of his vision, and the voice rang again. "Turn around, Lithuania. Greet your leader."

The crossbow formed in his hand once more and he pointed it straight at the shimmer he'd seen a moment ago. Whatever light it had produced was gone, and what stood before him seemed rather underwhelming. An alien, to be sure, but the most underwhelming kind. Only a few feet tall with bug eyes and grey skin; the most typical representation he could have imagined.

In a way, it was disappointing. That tiny thing, that was what had ruined their lives? That was their mastermind, their "leader"? But that was what made it terrifying. Something so menial held so much power over them.

Without a second thought, he shot at it, ten arrows coming forth from the single shot, but some sort of energy field around the leader shimmered and destroyed them before a single one could land. And the leader in turn produced some sort of gun and shot at Toris.

He'd only barely registered something piercing his chest before he fell to the floor and blackness started to envelop him.

What felt like moments later, Toris awoke, strapped to another one of the tables. He was too tired to move, too tired to struggle. Green pervaded his vision, but he couldn't see where it came from.

His head fell to his side, where he could see three other figures strapped down. Switzerland, Japan, he recognized them fairly quickly, and Romania was right beside him, but that was hard to miss. His very veins were glowing a bright green, as were his once red irises, and while the other two were twitching or weakly struggling, Romania was laughing as the green glow grew brighter and brighter.

Toris looked down at his arm to see if he could find a release switch, but his breath caught in his throat as he noticed his own veins were glowing green as well.

Something in his brain pounded, reducing his own thoughts to nothing more than a weak cry.

* * *

 _ **AN- Maybe it would have been better had Romania been dead before the story started like it had seemed, and if Lithuania had died when Poland thought he did. This chapter was hard to write, but it was a fun one, and one of the ones I'd been looking forward to the most. And it's a new academy record for chapter length, to boot! Plus there's the leader. Not necessarily Tony; don't think there's enough malice in him to do much other than curse England out, but I did toy with America suggesting that name to him at one point. Doesn't seem it'll pan out that way, though. But if it does, we'll find out pretty soon, I think. Anyways, thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	62. Black Tomorrow

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty Three- Black Tomorrow_

The reserve, in the end, ended up being a lot smaller than Sealand would have liked.

He begged Norway to stay home, going from "wouldn't Mathias and Emil and everyone rather you stay safe" to "but we're finally together again, we can't risk that" to finally and pitifully "but if that many people go the cars will be cramped". None of them worked.

Thankfully, his mama was easy to talk down. All it really took to convince him to be the backup was for Sealand to pout and say he couldn't bear losing him again and Sweden echoing the sentiment. And Sweden wouldn't have gone without him, so that helped things.

Trying to talk England down wasn't even an option, nor was it with America. And he expected as much, even if he wanted more than anything to protect those two, because Arthur finally treated him like an equal and Alfred felt like the big brother that his past self would have dreamed of, the kind Mathias was. Canada couldn't be talked out of it either, just as unsurprisingly.

Russia was resolute, Germany was unyielding, and Prussia was laughing through his devout determination. It was just how England had always described how they were back in the day.

The Italies he didn't even bother with. He'd already failed them.

Luckily, a few had sense even without his input. Spain apologized to Romano, saying he wasn't fit for the frontlines but would be supporting him the second he was needed. Austria refused outright, saying it wasn't his fight. And Hungary… well, she took a lot of convincing, mostly from Russia and Austria, but she finally conceded into staying back because she still had no idea how to effectively use her non frying pan weapons.

There wasn't any hesitation, they just all sort of gathered a few things that might be useful, like snacks for the road and a first aid kit and stuffed them in the cars. Seemed they were using what was probably Lovino's car this time around, along with one of the German brothers', he wasn't too sure which. But it hardly mattered, really, and Sealand barely even registered these things being discussed.

What he registered was the feeling of all the air being let out of the band, a slow deflation of the emotional high he'd been on for the past several hours. He'd just gotten his family back, and now he had to not only leave his mama and papa, but risk never seeing them again. No, he couldn't risk that. Even if things got bad, he wouldn't ask them to join him.

Because he felt like what had happened, the corpses, it was his fault. He couldn't protect Denmark, couldn't protect Latvia, couldn't protect anyone and now they suffered for it. He wasn't about to ask them to clean up any more of his messes. He'd caused them enough pain for one lifetime.

And it was still so dizzying to think that Norway had been fighting for the same cause all along, too. From what he could gather, Romania approached him and convinced him to help and he'd taken the offer out of the hopeless feeling that Mathias dying and Emil leaving had cast over them. He was happy, in a way, that he hadn't ever lost his big brother (or a number of other people, for that matter), but it also made him feel almost worse. England had been part of it too, meaning all his regret on his behalf may as well have been for nothing.

Why did things have to choose then to get bad, though? Just when things were going right for once? A day ago, he'd have been thrilled to have something else to do, but right now, Sealand just wanted to stop. To be in his mama and papa's arms. To finally be on equal footing with England. To have so many wonderful friends like Alfred and Gilbert and Erika-

He cut himself off from desperately trying to cling to the moment just long enough to pop back to "his" house, where Sweden had allowed Erika to stay until she found other arrangements. Well, that's how he worded it, at least, but he probably meant to let her stay as long as she'd like. If Sealand was any indication, he couldn't say no to lost children.

Erika didn't glare at him when he arrived, just looked up at him tiredly and listened to him trying to explain without so much as a reaction. Well, there was one reaction; her slight smile when he assured her that her brother was probably safe since Russia didn't see him among the corpses. But other than that, she was oddly unflinching.

It didn't seem right. Hearing that had flipped his entire head on its side, but she was reacting with no more enthusiasm than if he'd told her there'd been a few clouds in the sky.

And so he asked: "Are you okay?"

And so she answered: "No, I'm just tired. Tired of all of this. I don't even care anymore what happens, I just want it to be over and never have to hear about it again. Is that selfish?"

She sounded tired, remarkably so, but Sealand couldn't call her selfish. If it wasn't for guilt, he'd feel the same.

"If it makes you feel any better," she continued. "I'll wait with your reserve team. I can't help you any more, but I'll be there if you need me somehow."

Regret, a familiar sound tinged her voice, but he didn't question it. Instead, he simply thanked her, brought her back with him, and waited for everyone else to give the go ahead.

When it came, it felt like waking up from a dream. He didn't want to wake up, he didn't want to face the real world, where he could easily screw up again and lose everyone in one fell swoop. He didn't want to lose the soft warmth of such a pleasant dream.

But he had to wake up. It was almost morning, and he needed to finish his job. He needed to protect everyone, to see their souls home.

And so he told himself when letting his mama and papa go that it wasn't the last time he'd feel that warmth. There would be a tomorrow, where Erika could no longer be exhausted by their world and his family would be big and whole and he would meet everyone he'd lost again.

There were no happy endings perhaps, but there was a happy tomorrow. And Sealand would see it through.

* * *

A familiar situation; Gilbert was driving a car full of several emotional wrecks and a few more seething balls of rage. But the atmosphere was deathly rather than tinged with any amount of sarcasm or joy. And he would have given anything for the latter scenario to be the one he was living.

But no, he was very well bringing a number of people he cared very deeply about to their graves. Somehow that was the lesser of two evils. Either die as heroes or die as cowards, and if he was gonna go out, he wanted it to be as a hero. Or, more accurately, he wanted it to be for the right reasons.

Francis was a right reason. So was Kiku. But so was everyone, as painfully altruistic as it sounded. The fate described, being forever a prisoner of your own body, he couldn't imagine a worse nightmare.

Sure, a little, he wanted to save those who had already fallen, especially the few ones he knew by name, but mostly he wanted to make sure no more fell. Ludwig wouldn't become that. Antonio wouldn't become that. Elizaveta and Roderich wouldn't become that. Matthew wouldn't become that. Feli and Lovi, at least as far as they still stood, wouldn't become that.

Selfish reasons for selfless actions, seemed to make enough sense. They had to destroy what was creating those zombie whatevers before any more could be born. Nip it in the bud, cut off the source, stop it before it started.

But even as logical and clean as that was, the very simple fact remained that there were, in precise measurements, a hell of a lot of them already. There were also a hell of a lot of them, but that didn't exactly make him feel much better. A large party would increase the odds that someone had to get hurt, and someone had to die.

And so Pragmatic Gilbert Frederick Beilschmidt the Awesome made his glorious return, but this time, without Gilbird because someone was actually willing to keep an eye on his bird friends for him this time! With his awesome powers of calculation, he managed to not only follow the other car, but also make very serious and logical guesses about who was most likely to die!

Which he really, truly hated himself for because the answer was pretty terrible. The reserve team was automatically knocked to the bottom of the list due to not necessarily being present, which meant most of the obvious candidates like Completely Untrained Roderich were off the table. And from what he heard, that Ivan guy was pretty competent, so he was pretty low on the list too, along with that creepy guy with the hair clip and Arthur.

Normally, the Vargas brothers would have been pretty high, despite no longer being in a coma, but their trauma seemed to have unlocked some powers, so he wasn't terrible certain on their placement. So that left four people who were pretty unskilled, had powers that didn't exactly help with their survival, or both.

Yeah, Gilbert himself was pretty likely to die, and so was Alfred, but it was the other two that made him sick. Ludwig was powerful enough, but he had about a month to others' years, which didn't give him scores of faith in his abilities. But then there was Matthew, the clear winner of the Most Likely to be Killed by Zombies award. Sure, he was pretty powerful, but that was more in that he made the rest of them stronger. His own combat abilities amounted to a stick and some invisibility and his combat experience clocked in at probably about a week, but he really hadn't been keeping track. That invisibility might keep him safe for a while, but if he got hit regardless or got too tired to use it, he was pretty much screwed.

In other words, Team GLAM were the frontrunners to be murdered by zombies, and that did not make him any less close to freaking out. Normally, no matter how gruesome, the numbers would have kept him calm-ish, but no, this was different. If one of them dies, not only would the rest of them have a much higher chance of dying, but the question remained: what would happen afterwards? Would they too become living corpses?

At least to shut his brain up, Gilbert arrived at the conclusion that, based on the evidence at hand, it was most likely that only if they all died before whatever was making the zombies could be stopped, then yeah, they were screwed. But if they managed to at very least stop it before they were all gone, then whoever fell would be reincarnated shortly, which while sounding kind of bad, was much better than just straight dying or becoming human puppets.

Basically, so long as they took proper advantage of whatever strategy they could concoct that the mindless foes lacked, they would probably be fine. But that was disregarding the other objective: killing the others to give them proper rest. And as much as Pragmatic Gilbert wanted to say this should come secondary, the part of him that cared more about morality than logic objected. No one deserved that, especially not people who he was intrinsically connected to.

So as probably hovering around third most likely to die, he decided to try to tie up any loose ends he could think of before valiantly sacrificing himself to relieve others of a morbid fate.

"Hey, Lud?"

His brother looked at him hesitantly before nodding.

"I'm proud of you, alright?" He got an almost disturbed look for this, but kept going. "Of everything. Not just the fighting and stuff, but how smart you are and what a good person you've become. I'm sure Mom and Dad would be proud, and so would Gramps."

Clever Ludi, he saw right through it. "Are you really that sure we're all going to die?"

"No," he lied blatantly. "I just wanted to let you know, alrighty?"

For all his heartfelt crap, he just got an eye roll. Not the appropriate response, even if it was brought about by a forecast of death. He wracked his brain for what else there might be, but most of it was directed at people who weren't there. He couldn't really just call Elizaveta and tell her that even if he half hated her sometimes and thought she was a boy for most of their youth that he appreciated her friendship, or tell Roderich that even if he was an asshole he was still a talented and wonderful person. No, they'd think he'd gone insane, and also he didn't think he could get the words out his mouth without gagging.

What else? Anything he could say to the Vargas's would be meaningless to them now, and spilling up all that gush to Antonio would freak him out. So that left Matthew, who there were a few things he wanted to clear up with.

He waited a few minutes, or maybe more like an hour to start that conversation. Just to not weird everyone out again.

"Oh, hey, Mattie?", he started, trying to sound casual.

"It's okay, I already wrote a will on my phone," he flatly replied, and Gilbert genuinely couldn't tell if he was joking. "Arthur gets all my books, Alfred gets my laptop and my video games, you can have any remaining syrup and Kumajiro if you want, and everything else should be burned."

Please be a joke, he wanted to say, but he gulped it back. "Um, not planning to ask about any of that, but okay. Really, I just wanted to know, er, what are… we?"

Matthew just shrugged. "I sort of thought we were dating."

His stomach lept a bit. All he could really get out was "oh, cool, thanks."

What felt like an eternity of awkward silence passed before Matthew added "Do you… want to be dating?"

"Yeah, that sounds cool, why, you not feeling it?"

A loud sigh. "I don't know, I just, well, I don't know how to feel about anything right now. Not just you, but I kind of hate Arthur for everything that happened and Francis too but I can't let them die and agh, I just don't know."

"Look, I have a statistical likelihood of dying and I don't know how to feel!", Gilbert offered. "A statistical likelihood!"

Somewhere in the back seat, a mutter of "knew it" floated up and quickly died.

"Oh, I have one of those too," Matthew flatly stated, waving his phone, where out of the corner of his eye Gilbert could barely make out words that seemed to be about what he rattled off as his will earlier. "And I don't know how to feel about it. I don't want to die, but I… I'm not worried about it. Don't know why, I'm just not. Maybe 'cause I know we'll come back?"

Was that defeatism or calm? He couldn't tell. But he could tell that he didn't want him to feel so broken. They were all going to die, there was a certainty about that, even if it wasn't soon. But what was the use in being down about it?

A smile, a laugh, he burst out laughing, and everyone stared at him. "Sorry," he explained. "It's just… yeah, sure, we might be screwed, but whatever! We'll meet again, no matter what happens, and I can live with that."

"I like your thinking, Gil," Matthew muttered. "It'd be a shame if it didn't last longer here, but we can try again tomorrow."

Maybe neither of them knew what they were saying, but it made him feel a little better, at least for the moment.

* * *

The question of the hour was what would kill Alfred first: zombies or being in a car with Russia for god knows how long?

He was really leaning towards the latter. And sure, he felt bad for the guy, given all his friends and family were dead, but not bad enough to erase the sort of innate discomfort he felt around him. He wasn't even sure why, he just knew very well he did not like the guy.

Actually, he could think of a few reasons. He was creepy, for one, and always talked like he was a ten year old girl who'd just finished watching a gory horror movie. Also, he really seemed to hate Alfred in particular.

With a smile, he'd say things like "let's all do our best so we don't get blown up!", and "we aren't really heroes here, just trying to help" and they were so clearly directed at Alfred in particular and he couldn't stand it. He'd force a smile back and reply with things like "well, as long as we don't freeze under pressure we'll be fine" and "of course we're heroes, what else would we be?" and be very impressed with how passive aggressive he could be.

It went on like that for a while, and he sort of ended up feeling bad for poor Sealand, who not only looked like he was screaming very loudly on the inside but also happened to be sitting right between them. Poor kid didn't deserve to be subjected to the Cold War of the back seat.

He felt less bad for Arthur because he'd had to listen to a million similar arguments between him and Francis in his life and Alfred felt it was time for some payback. Probably the best thing about the whole ordeal, really.

And Lukas? Honestly, he sort of creeped him out too, but in a different way. Not a "I'll slit your throat while you aren't looking" way, but in the way an old bookstore creeped you out. No one could possibly know what was going on in there when no one was looking, and he was probably pretty hard to navigate, and also he kind of smelled like old books? Alfred was almost proud of that metaphor but it got lost.

But regardless, they kept going at it slyly through sideways glares and muttered insults until finally Arthur cracked and told them to break it up, rather loudly.

"Look, I think we all have quite enough to worry about here without you two squabbling like children!", he yelled.

"What else are we supposed to do?", Alfred countered. "My phone's dead and I forgot to bring anything else!"

"You can borrow my phone charger," Arthur stated, throwing a black mess of cords back at him. "Now please. Stop."

Plugging his phone in, Alfred waited a few minutes for it to turn on, at which point it buzzed with a ton of messages missed from Matthew.

" _Just wanted to say I love you_ "

" _Because we're probably gonna die_ "

" _And you can have my 3DS if I die_ "

" _Please answer_ "

" _And tell Arthur I don't hate him and that I get why he did the things_ "

Quickly, he replied " _sorry man phone died will do :)_ "

"Hey, Artie!", he called out, and his big brother looked back at him. "Mattie said to tell you he doesn't hate you and gets why you did the things!"

He failed to understand why Arthur let out a noise that sounded like a sob a moment after he said this. "Ah… thank you. Tell him that I love him too and won't do it again if we live, alright?"

Once he passed on the message and got just a brief " _k_ " in return, he wasn't too sure what to do. So he popped his earbuds in, turned on a podcast, and hoped that tomorrow would come before he went insane.

* * *

Ludwig cleared his throat, dreading the conversation he was about to have. "Italy?"

Someone who he still wasn't entirely certain what to make of turned to him. "Hm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Nope!", Italy answered far too cheerfully. "How about you?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Is it because your brother won't shut up about our inevitable demises?", Romano butted.

"Not particularly." In a low mutter, he added "Nor is it what him and Matthew were doing when we stopped for gas."

"Ehehe, Germany, I know you'll be fine," he was assured with his friend's trademark brand of cheer. "You're one of the strongest people I know, I believe in you!"

And his point was proved. "Exactly, thank you."

Italy seemed a bit lost as to what he was referring to, letting out a "huh?"

"You called me Germany, just then," he explained

He looked away in embarrassment. "Oops. Sorry, I'll be careful about-"

"I'm not upset," Ludwig quickly assured him. "I just… I want you to be honest with me. Why have you been pulling away?"

"H-have I?"

A gap of hesitation proceeding it indicated he was feigning ignorance, but regardless, Romano quickly affirmed the observation bluntly. "Yeah. You have. Look, I noticed this, and I give exactly zero damns about your relationship so…"

"Am I making you uncomfortable?," Ludwig questioned. "You always seemed to cling to me before when you were worried about things, but I don't know what to think here."

"I don't know, okay?" Italy looked down, unwilling to make the slightest bit of eye contact. "I just don't."

"And that's fine, but if you don't like me, if you don't like Ludwig, I won't be hurt if you say so."

That was a lie. Hearing that would hurt a lot, but he'd rather hear it than hold it as a sneaking suspicion in the back of his mind.

"Ludwig, I like you a lot," Italy assured him. "Er, I think I do, at least? You're super nice, but you're just different from how I remember."

Oh, so that was it. He was losing out to a phantom. Something about that made his stomach churn and blood boil. "Well, I told you, I'm not him. I'm not your Germany!"

He regretted yelling as soon as his voice rose, but instead of freaking out, Italy yelled back. "And that's fine, but I'm not your Feliciano! You can stop being nice to me, you know! I killed him, I deserve it!"

Why was he still on that? Had Erika truly gotten to him that much? "You didn't kill him! You did nothing wrong, Feli!"

"Stop calling me that!"

Oops. That had come out, hadn't it? "I…" He tried to find the words to defend himself, but he didn't know how to finish that sentence. He what, was sorry? Wanted him to stop hating himself for something he didn't do? Didn't want to be compared to someone he could never be again? Just wanted him to listen?

All he could get out was "Fine."

The two sat in silence for too long after that. Ludwig wasn't sure to hate himself or Italy, but he was leaning towards the former. He just wanted to do something, he just wanted to work things out before they all died. He wanted his friend back.

After quite a while, spent gathering his thoughts and feelings into something more coherent, he softly asked "Why can't I help you? I've always been able to before, so why not now?"

"Because I'm not who you were helping before," Italy softly answered.

Okay, he could do this. He'd gone over it in his mind, he could do it. "Italy, please." He took a deep breath "Who was the one to save me and Kiku from Ukraine?"

"Feliciano," he answered without thought.

"Really? Because Feliciano alone couldn't have used your powers," Ludwig countered.

"I-"

It was working, it seemed. "And who did I help defeat Belarus?", he continued.

"Feliciano, he was who you were protecting."

"You're missing the point," he said, even if the answer was about what he expected and prepared for. "Tell me, who did I ask to go out with me?"

"Stop!", Italy almost shouted. "It was your Feliciano, not me, and I'm so sorry, he should be here instead of me!"

Anticipating his touch to be pushed away, he put his hand on Italy's knee and tried to remember the argument he'd tried to hone. "I fought for all of you, I fell in love with all of you, I care about all of you! You were a part- a- a part of that, or, er, perhaps Feliciano was a part of you, but either way, that doesn't change a thing. So, um, tell me, do I need to back off and give you your space? Just… what do you need from me, Italy?"

Italy began laughing in the same sunny laugh he'd always had. "What the hell's funny about this?", Romano practically growled.

"It's the same for you too, isn't it?", Italy questioned as his laughed died down. "You're still Germany, even if you don't feel like it. You were always the one to talk me down when I'd get lost in my fears, you know?"

So it was no different. Perhaps about failed battles rather than failed wars, but still the same. "I know."

Finally, Italy looked at him head on, smiling brightly. "Ah… let's start over, alright? Whatever went on in the past will just complicate things. Um, so, I'm Italy, nice to meet you."

He felt himself returning the smile and extending his hand to Italy. "Ludwig. It's a pleasure."

Romano was rolling his eyes and Gilbert was giggling like a schoolgirl, but Ludwig hardly cared. Things felt lighter somehow. Despite what tomorrow might bring, he was fine, for the time being. Italy curled up next to him and they chatted about nothing and everything and things were as they should be.

* * *

 _ **AN- Well okay then. Told you guys the split chapters would come back. Seemed like a good way to get a lot of different perspectives and stories in before the end, right? Plus this means we won't have a whole bunch of road trip chapters, which is good!**_

 _ **Just a heads up, guys. Updates might be a bit slower for the last few chapters, 'cause they're, for the most part, probably gonna be pretty lengthy. I only have a few more real chapters slated, so there'll be a lot going on in each one. Plus, I'm working on other things, and this one took so long because I wrote three one-shots between chapters and I'm quite proud of myself for that, so there's that too. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	63. Green Eyes

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty Four- Green Eyes_

"Italy…"

Something soft and dark was wrapped around him, but a voice pulled him out of it and back to a much colder reality.

Back seat of the car, head rested on Ludwig's shoulder, the jacket his brother had been wearing haphazardly slapped across his other side. It was pitch black outside, the clock on the dashboard said it was around four in the morning.

"Huh, what?", he questioned sleepily, wondering why he'd been awakened.

"No nightmares, right?", Ludwig quickly asked him before his question could be answered.

Nightmares? He remembered having a dream vaguely, but it hadn't been anything scary. Just some incoherence about himself and Holy Rome and he'd been wearing that cute green dress Hungary always had him wear, but other than that he couldn't recall. So he shook his head.

Ludwig let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. You fell asleep with the necklace on, and I didn't want to wake you, so I thought you'd have more visions."

"You really think we're that weak?", Romano countered. "We can control our powers, Potato."

This made Ludwig looked away as if embarrassed. "I was only making sure," he muttered, and then turned back towards him. "Anyways, I just wanted to let you know, we're nearly there."

It took Italy a moment to figure out where "there" was before realizing it was their destination, the base or whatever Russia was leading them. Filled with the dead bodies and imprisoned souls of their fellow nations and friends. Any warmth the sleep had lent him vanished, as did most of the jacket's.

He wasn't ready for this. Nothing, not Gilbert's skewed attempts at pep talks or mending things with Ludi or anything had made him so. And everyone was likely to die, but where did that leave him? His memories of being Italy were more intact, and Romano was more powerful than scattered knowledge of Lovino would have led him to believe, but he didn't feel quite, for want of a better word, "full". Something was missing, a familiar spark beneath his skin, a passion blazing deep within his guts. How much of his powers were left, and even if he had them, what help would they be? Could he possibly protect anyone with as weak as he was, and even then, with how much less of them there was than Italy should have?

All he could do was pray that everything would work out. All he could do was hold onto whatever moments he had to rest now, let them prepare him for what was to come.

Wordlessly, Ludwig squeezed his hand. Without being asked, Romano started chatting about nothing in particular, about how different the world had become since they'd first died and how weird it was to have the memories of an American stuffed in the back of his Italian mind. The thank yous for these gestures caught in Italy's throat.

Whatever will be will be, it was too late to do a thing but let the speeding train crash into the light.

Too soon, the car in front of them pulled over into seemingly the middle of nowhere, and their car followed suit. The ten of them sort of gathered around, most of them looking a bit worse for wear and tired.

Finally, Arthur sort of nudged Ivan, who was staring off into the distance. "So, where do we go from here?", he questioned.

"Oh, yes, follow me," he offered, and proceeded to transform in a bright flash of light. Straining his eyes in the faint starlight, he seemed to be looking for something before letting out a sort of "ah-ha!" noise and producing his weapon. The faucet was driven into the ground and wound around the spot until a loud clicking noise pierced the air.

Gilbert and Matthew suddenly jumped back as a hole started to open up uncomfortably close to their feet. That hole kept growing until it was easily bigger than the cars they'd come in. And once the hole opened fully, steps started snapping into place, forming a spiral staircase that went down and down and down in complete darkness.

When the noises finally stopped, they all just sort of stared at it, too daunted at the prospect of actually going down there to move.

"So, um, like, I say Ivan should go first, since he knows the way," Alfred stuttered out, sort of shoving him forward to emphasise the point.

"Oh, but you should go first, light the way with your fire powers!", countered Ivan.

Neither moved until quite suddenly Romano blurted out "Hey, could I borrow someone's phone real quick before we-"

He was cut off by Alfred practically throwing the phone at him. "Thanks, now anyone have the Tomato Bastard's number?", he questioned.

It was Gilbert who offered it to him, but Italy was half wondering if it was actually him trying to say one last thing to Antonio or if Romano just wanted to stall the inevitable a bit longer. Either way, it seemed a lot of them took inspiration from it, as Lukas grabbed Arthur's phone out of his hands and started to dial some number on it. Once finished helping Roma, Gilbert seemed to call someone up as well.

It kind of made Italy feel a bit alone, to not have anyone he wanted to bid farewell. Well, not anyone who wasn't there with him, at least.

But Ludwig tapped him on the shoulder and sent all those feelings reeling backwards. "Italy, if everyone's saying goodbye," he started with an awkward cough. "I, um, this may sound a bit odd, but-"

Call it a premonition, but he could sort of tell what he was about to ask, given how completely unsure he sounded about it. Before he could finish, Italy nodded and raised up on his toes a bit to better reach him. Quickly, before his courage could fail him, he placed a hand on the side of Ludwig's face and used it as a bit of leverage to pull him closer.

Their lips smashed together before he could properly react, and all that ran through his mind is how long that'd been coming. He'd tried to do it, to kiss him full on the first time they'd been rushing to their demises, all those years ago, but never gotten the chance. So really, it was the first time since they were children.

His heart raced like crazy, and he wasn't sure whether or not to try deepening it but decided against it. He had to guess Ludwig wasn't exactly experienced with this, given how he seemed to not really be certain where to put his hands or even lips. Perhaps not the best kiss, but it still felt warm in a way he wasn't sure his current body had felt before.

"Oi, if you two will stop snogging, we sort of have a world to save!", Romano shouted startling Ludwig into stumbling back and nearly knocking Italy over in the process.

Even in the faint light, he could tell Ludi was completely red, and with the biggest grin the leftover adrenaline could muster, Italy grabbed his hand and started barreling towards the staircase. It felt like he was falling, but god, he just didn't care. He produced a ball of light in his open hand to light the way as he led the way to whatever fate awaited them.

Of course, after a minute, the charge of courage ran low and he started to freak out a bit. God, he was actually going down, no, he was leading the way, and now everyone was behind him. How was he doing this, he wanted to just stop and go back and cry all at the same time.

But then he thought of Kiku, then he thought of Francis, then he thought of everyone who he was so very close to, who didn't deserve to suffer. If ever he had to be brave, it should be now. They'd do the same for him, so he had to be strong. His grip on Ludwig turned to a vice and his breathing became heavier but he forged on until Russia brushed past him uncomfortably and he was nearly sent tripping down had someone not caught his shoulder.

Eventually, they reached a room at the end of the hall, with blinking red lights and a great, jagged split in its furthest wall. The footsteps behind him stopped, and Ivan stepped forward to inspect that split. "Odd, it's normally open," he remarked.

Surprisingly, no one added "oh what a shame guess we'll have to go back", but Italy knew at least he was thinking it.

After a moment barely long enough to make them all heavily regret their decisions, the blinking red lights without warning turned green and a terrible shuddering noise signaled the door's opening.

Bright lights flooded the room, burning Italy's eyes a bit to the point he nearly missed the two silhouettes in front of the opening door. But once he caught them, he was halfway to screaming before he recognized them.

Poland. Greece. The two Ivan had mentioned seeing alive. And despite looking terribly tired and like they'd been in a few too many fights, neither of them had any semblance of a green glow around them. They simply stared, like they were as surprised to run into them as anyone.

Ivan stepped forward and greeted them bluntly. "Feliks, Heracles."

"Um, hello," Greece, or rather Heracles muttered. "What are you-? What are you all-?"

"We've come to lend a hand," Ivan explained with a grin. "Might I ask what you are doing here?"

Poland, or rather Feliks quickly answered. "We figured out how to hijack one of those transporter things because he wanted to see if he could save his friend Kiku."

"We… couldn't," Heracles admitted sorrowfully. "And we can't figure out how to get it to work again, so we're a bit stuck."

"If you wanna get out, you can go out the way we came in," offered Matthew.

Feliks chuckled a bit. "Oh, you mean like, from that staircase that started collapsing back right after this door opened?"

Turning around, Italy saw that yes, the staircase was sinking back into the ground. Meaning they were trapped, which would have been a lot more terrifying had it not been for Sealand's teleportation. Which was quickly offered up by the kid, but rejected just as quickly.

"There's no way in hell I'm leaving," protested Feliks. "Not while they're still using Toris's body like that."

Heracles reiterated the sentiment a bit more politely. "Thank you for the offer, but I would rather fight."

"Well then, welcome to the team," Arthur exclaimed. "Now, mind showing us where all these corpses are?"

The two looked at each other for a moment before Feliks turned around and started down the bright, grey, rusty hallway, beckoning for them to follow. A scent Italy couldn't quite place hung heavy in the air and made his head hurt like crazy.

Gradually, as they went down, the lights got dimmer, and another slice in the wall shuffled open to reveal a room filled with glass tanks, many of which seemed to have been shattered open and leaking green ooze all over the floor. In the back of his mind, the suffocating feeling of breathing in a thick liquid rose up and he nearly stopped in his tracks before Gilbert passed him and gave him a concerned glance as he did so, snapping his mind back to the present.

So he kept going, and soon he saw a few silhouettes standing in the distant.

"Stand back," Heracles warned. "There were more here earlier, but I don't doubt they'll come back."

In the dim light, Italy could recognize the silhouettes. Estonia, Australia, Portugal; he'd met each of them at some point, and even though he'd never been that close to them, he still felt a bit bad. He'd happily cut them down if it meant he could save them, he thought.

But as they drew closer, that certainty turned to sickness. It seemed that the green flowed through their very veins, dying their skin a completely unnatural, sickly shade. Their posture was more like a marionette than a human being, stumbling forward as if propelled by strings. And their eyes stared ahead, empty and dull save for the bright glowing green.

Romano gripped his wrist, his brother's face showing the mix of repulsion, sorrow, and feel that was growing in his stomach. "What the hell…", he muttered. "How could this-?"

Two bright flashes of light, and Poland and Greece started towards the lumbering corpses. "Don't just stand there!", Feliks called back as he sent a handful of flames towards Estonia. "You've gotta fight them too, you know!"

"Got it!", Alfred exclaimed, and he sprung towards Portugal, sending a few bullets into his side as he did so. Italy felt his hands close around his flag as he prepared to do the same, but he was stopped by a pained cry.

It had come from Alfred, who had been struck by Estonia's pike. The weapon itself glowed an unnatural green to mirror its wielder, but that wasn't the disconcerting part.

No, that was how the wound it had left in Alfred's arm was pulsing with the same green light. Letting out a few pained cries, Alfred leaned against a wall and seemed to try to get some sort of message out.

"Agh, what- no, what is-?"

Both Matthew and Arthur rushed towards him, but their brother let out another loud cry. "No, stay away!", he exclaimed, and from the glowing wound, it seemed green had spread throughout his body. The veins in his neck turned to a sickly fractal and the guns he was holding mirrored the same shade.

"Al, what's going on?", Matthew cried out, seemingly barely holding himself back from running to his aid.

Slowly, Alfred looked at him, his eyes glowing green, and his face slackened to the blank expression bore by the rest of the corpses. He pointed a gun at Matthew, and the shot barely missed his head.

A few more, joined by Australia's weapon ricocheting off the wall, and what had happened slowly settled over everyone as Arthur and Matthew weakly begged their brother to calm down, to stop, to come back please. But Alfred couldn't hear them. He was as lost as any of the other corpses.

With a sudden motion, Ludwig produced a sheet of metal that took up nearly the entire hall, blocking the corpses. "Sealand, go get the others!", he quickly ordered, and Sealand gave a nod before a flash of light whisked him off.

"Why didn't you say they could infect us?", Arthur practically screamed at Feliks, who was still staring blankly at the barrier where Alfred had stood a moment ago.

"I- I didn't know they could do that…", he remarked in a near whisper. "None of them had hit us, I didn't- god, I'm so sorry."

"How do we fix him?", Matthew demanded, voice shaking but forceful. When no answer was given, he repeated himself, both louder and less coherent.

Slowly, Heracles shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know if we can."

"There has to be a way!", Arthur insisted. "I'm not losing him, not now, not after-"

He was interrupted by Ivan. "I- I think I figured it out," he started. "These things, if they can convert us, perhaps that's why we're here."

"What do you mean?", demanded Gilbert. "We came here to save everyone, not to join them!"

Ivan shook his head. "No. I mean, I- I was supposed to see those bodies. I was supposed to defect, I was supposed to tell you all. It all makes sense, I didn't leave, I didn't escape." He let out a small chuckle. "I was the messenger, I was meant to lead you all here to die, all in one fell swoop."

"It's not your fault," a voice quickly assured him. Turning around, Italy saw six more figures had joined them, with Sealand also standing among them. Elizaveta was making her way towards Ivan with a kind smile.

"We should go," Sealand stated. "Forget fighting, I'm sorry I brought you here. If this is a trap, we need to get-"

A loud cry interrupted him as Ludwig seemed to be forced back, his blockade dissolving as a young boy who looked far too young to be among the ranks of the dead stood before him, hand outstretched as if to have pushed him down. Italy ran quickly to his side to assure he was unharmed, but his eyes were instead caught by the fact that several more corpses had joined them, Kiku among them.

It was disconcerting to see his friend like that, but the relief of Ludwig assuring him he was unharmed made it lessen a tad. So he turned towards them and sent a volley of light charges into their ranks, Ludwig doing the same with a storm of needles.

Ice crystals and flames and streaks of colored light flew through the air, making the corpses stumble a bit, but they kept coming towards them. And beside him, he could see Elizaveta staring at them, mouthing words he couldn't quite catch.

In an instant, Elizaveta let out a loud cry. Was Hungary's telepathy sensing something, reading the cries of everyone before them? She seemed to stumble a bit, and started walking towards them, as if in a trance.

"So dark…" she muttered. "Stop, please… I can't… hurt… them…"

As if on cue, an arrow pierced her chest, glowing a bright green. A few voices cried out in distress at seeing it, but Italy just felt a sudden sense of numbness as Hungary's veins were dyed green. One of the people he'd loved most, fallen in a split second.

"Now! We've gotta leave now!", Sealand exclaimed. "Ludwig, do that blocky thingy again, and I'll-"

Behind him, the silhouette of a man with spiky hair appeared, and the blunt end of an axe struck Sealand across the head, making him tumble to the ground.

Lukas rushed to fight off the dull-eyed Denmark while Ludwig produced the block again. "I- I can't keep doing this," he muttered. "Please, we need to figure out what to do and quickly."

"I- I don't know!", Italy exclaimed. "I don't see a way out of this, how can we win this?"

"See?", England repeated, sending a few streaks of light towards Denmark. "Italy, even if you aren't to use it, please, if you could-"

"His visions?", Antonio finished. "Is that even possible? Could you see something that could get us out of here alive?"

Honestly, he had no idea, and everything he'd ever been told was screaming at him to not even consider it, but he didn't care. "I can try!", he offered.

"We'll need somewhere for you to do it," Romano countered. "Is there anywhere safe here, anywhere at all?"

"It's not entirely safe, but I think I know a place," Heracles offered. "I don't think you'll like it, but-"

"Please," Italy begged. "I don't care, just show me!"

"Show us," Romano corrected. "No way in hell I'm letting you go alone."

"Can you all keep up the fight without me?", Ludwig requested. "This blockade is draining me more than it should, I'd be of more help guarding him than here."

Heracles gave a nod and started running back towards the broken glass and green fluid. "Follow me!"

* * *

 _ **AN- Yeah… Just… yeah. Not too much more to say, other than it happened and it will keep happening. But I guess it's next time you all have to**_ _ **worry about. Also, on a very quick lighter note, any hints of Spamano in this chapter are the fault of my good friend A Broken Imagi-NATION because it is their fault I sort of ship it now. Aka, I did not ship it before and the previous hints of it were either accidental or me trolling you guys. Okay, thanks for reading, not sorry at all. -Twilight Joltik**_


	64. Blackest Night

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty Five- Blackest Night_

A flash of light pierced the air. Sealand didn't have to say a word, the look on his face was enough. Desperation, it was enough to spur Erika forwards.

But what he did say didn't hurt. "The- the zombies! They infect whoever they attack! A-Alfred's down, and please, we have to do something!"

She knew, in a sense, that she would be less than worthless to him. She would drag them down, if she fell she'd be a liability, she'd be useless. Even so, the quiet that fell across the room was painful, was agonizingly so. These people, regardless of how badly she wanted it to not be so, she was like them. And to see them suffer was too much.

Not to mention Basch was surely there. So even if her rashness had robbed her of her ability to fight, she had to at least help, to put his soul to rest.

No one seemed to notice her grabbing the back of Sealand's shirt, or the fact that she was among them. Well, she was fairly certain she caught Elizaveta's eye, but other than that, she was all but unnoticed.

When the sick feeling of her body being ripped from its location vanished, another sick feeling took its place. The dull lights, the rusted walls, the wide halls, the scent of metal and chemicals; everything about this base was unsettling.

It only took a second for things to get worse. Elizaveta fell in an instant, and someone came up behind Sealand and knocked him out. Their chances of survival were quickly diminishing, it seemed.

So with a deep breath, Erika rushed towards Sealand, praying perhaps he could be alright and get them out, but the shallow breaths of his shadow told her otherwise. Whoever had attacked him seemed to be engaged with a few of their other allies, leaving her to desperately try to shake him awake.

"Please, we need you!", she begged shrilly, but no response. Unsurprising, given their luck, but sickening. Blood was pooling under his head. God, it must have hurt him an awful lot. Perhaps she could at least try to help him?

Tearing a strip of cloth off her jacket, she gently raised his head, his hat falling off as she tried to make out the wound in the dim light. The bulk of the injury seemed to be around the back and side of his head, and she had to wonder, how could he have been hurt like that? He'd seemed nigh untouchable before, save for Ivan's attacks, but now he was bleeding?

Perhaps that was also a property of whatever was converting them into walking corpses? Perhaps since it couldn't convert him, it instead allowed him to be harmed? Whatever it was, she didn't quite understand it, but she pulled the strip of cloth as tight as she could and tied it around his head, hoping it might at very least stop the bleeding.

Picking up his hat, she started to put it back on him, but she stopped for a moment as her eyes caught the striped ribbon around it. Her own ribbon, if she hadn't decided it would be better off as a pile of ashes, might have allowed her to be of some use.

But no, it was better off. Even if she was to die, she would die as herself and not Liechtenstein, right?

Beside her, Tino, Berwald, and Lukas were fighting a man with an axe and another with bright explosions around him. But despite the green glow in the air, despite the situation, despite everything, they seemed almost happy. The way they almost danced across the floor, attacks shining brightly, it seemed less desperate battle and more performance.

Were they not themselves, even if they shone so brightly?

Erika, in that moment, knew she'd made a mistake, and could only pray there was a way to rectify it. Sealand's hat was still in her hands, and in the back of her mind, an idea sprang forth. Sealand wasn't Basch, he wasn't the most important person to her, but he was a friend, a friend she wanted to make up for all the terrible things she'd said to. She wanted to help him.

Forcing that desire to the front of her mind, she put the hat on and begged the burning feeling in her chest to burst forth once more. Lights danced in front of her eyes and it felt as if her flesh were being torn to pieces, but when she opened them, she felt stronger.

But she didn't feel guilty or ashamed, like she normally did when calling upon Liechtenstein. No, she was fine. She was whole.

Pulling her rifle out of the air, she glanced around, searching for a green-glowing target.

And her eyes fell upon a girl wearing a flower in her hair, with dark, flowing hair and half-open green eyes. She held a blade to the floor, dragging it slowly as she seemed to notice Liechtenstein's aim.

A few shots came from her gun, followed by golden petals forming a wave. Both hit the girl as she looked almost started for a moment before reassuming the blank expression and rushing towards her with the blade.

With a simple push of her hands, Erika made a mass of petals push the corpse backwards and she let out a few more bullets, which seemed to make a bright green fluid come out of the girl rather than blood.

Staggering forwards, the corpse tried to strike her once more, but Erika parried with the barrel of her gun. Said barrel ended up pointed directly at the corpse's heart, so she let as many rounds fire as she could.

A slight smile came to the girl's face and she stumbled backwards, green leaking out of the wound. The green of her eyes faded a bit before she seemed to shudder and force herself back up.

Out of the corner of Erika's eye, as she pushed the girl back once more, she caught sight of someone familiar. Someone far too familiar. A green-clad man with two guns floating beside his head.

Basch's eyes were flat and his skin greenish, but his posture seemed less slouched than the other corpses. Something about his movements seemed both more vibrant and more pained. He couldn't be alive, could he?

"Big brother!", she called out, but he said nothing to her. Instead, the guns by his head aimed towards her.

Though she tried to stop them, perhaps she was too slow, or her shield too weak to block bullets. So instead, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, followed by a cold creeping. Ice was filling her veins, and her thoughts were going dark.

Still, she reached out towards Basch. A final smile came to her lips.

"Big… brother. I'll stay here, by your side. No matter… what…"

* * *

It was a familiar rhythm to get back into. The sound of his sword against Mathias's axe- no, that thing in front of him wasn't Mathias, he had to remember that- felt natural, like when they had sparred so long ago.

But it was hardly the environment to feel at home in, Lukas reminded himself. It was a heavy haze of death, it was a thick layer of disturbing, but it wasn't home. Home existed now beyond sheets of metal and dusty old books. It was a place he could reach if he could only keep living.

Rushing in circles, listening to the clanking of metal on metal, trying to fire off a streak of magic every few beats, it felt natural. He might as well have been a foolish child again, in the backyard trying to prove to Mathias that he was the stronger of the two.

Truly, he couldn't help but enjoy himself, despite the lifeless way he was being slashed at.

It was easily a fight he could handle, so he was almost disappointed when Tino stepped in and sent a few strikes of lightning towards what was left of Mathias. Like many times before, he wanted to sigh and tell him that he could easily win alone, but something about the way the fight started to fall into place stopped him.

So many times before, the two of them had fought together. Even if Tino was never the person he'd want by his side, it often ended up like that, and working with him had become as natural as breathing. Aurora colors sparked at the edge of his vision, he would turn around and launch a violet flame at the same place without thinking. Bullets would soar through the air, he'd form an Attraction Circle under the opponent's feet to make sure they hit their mark.

When another corpse came to Denmark's aid, one he recognized with a pang as having once been Hong Kong, the rhythm he'd fallen into only beat faster. On one side, flashes of flame would fill the air, so he would direct them away. On the other side, a jet of water, and he'd block it with the flat end of his sword.

It seemed at some point Berwald joined Tino and himself, but he barely noticed. Even if he hadn't fought with him in a while, it still felt natural. He would block with wooden constructs, leaving Lukas able to focus more energy into striking.

The air blistered with bursts of heat around him, with smoke and flame. Firey explosions, wooden shields, they couldn't mix well, not for too long. So Lukas set his sights on taking down Leon first.

Before he did anything, he'd need to check if his redirections would work. A simple test, performed and backed up just by catching one of his attacks in with redirecting Finland's bullets towards Denmark. Assuring it was discreet would try to make sure whatever strategic reasoning those things were left with wouldn't kick in and leave him striking an unintended target.

So he waited, he watched Leon closely. Before he'd attack, he'd do a sort of flicking motion with his hand, he remembered that much from watching him fight with Emil. So as he made the motion, Lukas quickly cast a spell circle under his feet, one that pulled all of those attacks towards the target.

It did seem to cause a bit of damage, with bits of green trickling down Hong Kong's face, but not enough. But no, his eyes seemed to lose their glow and gain another sort of brightness briefly. He repeated the motion, and Lukas cast the spell once more.

Loud booms filled the air and bright red sparks like fireworks flew from where Leon stood. When they cleared, there was hardly enough of him left to call a corpse.

The smoke burned his eyes. Lukas couldn't help but picturing his sweet little brother in those explosions instead. Had he avenged his brother's sacrifice?

No, he'd completed it. Leon had been there for Emil when he couldn't be, it was the least he could do to allow him to be freed from that puppet body.

For a moment, Lukas thought his face had somehow been cut until he realized that his vision was oddly blurry. No, he couldn't lose focus, not now! He still needed to strike Mathias down, to save him now to make up for having left him to die.

Another body, glowing as brightly red as it did green took Hong Kong's place in the fight. No, god, he couldn't do this, not now. Biting the inside of his cheek, Norway sent a wave of comet trails towards Mathias and Vladimir's bodies and just repeated what he knew to be true in his mind.

The people he loved were long dead.

All he could do for them was put them out of their misery.

If he loved them, he needed to destroy their bodies.

If he wanted to be forgiven for every misstep, every time he'd failed to be there, he needed to tear them to shreds.

As a rainbow flash and splinters came into the edge of his vision, Lukas reached deep inside, to the bottom of the well of light, and drew out a great wave. A pulse of energy, blades running through the air and cutting into Denmark's body, tearing it apart to a degree that was sickening and made him question how so much of his flesh could have been dyed green.

But as he tried to direct it towards Romania, he found he couldn't see much beyond the blurry silhouette of someone rushing towards him, scythe outstretched. God, even in death, Vlad had terrible form with that thing, he thought wryly.

The world became even blurrier when he felt the blade slash his stomach. Looking up, he saw a smile, but he was sure he saw tears running down the same face.

Weakly, Lukas let out a chuckle. "Emil… Sorry I couldn't see... you again…"

It quickly became hard to see anything, but he felt his body turning towards the rhythm of battle, towards what was left of his family.

* * *

As far as Arthur was concerned, the world had already ended. The heroes had fallen, their fate was sealed. All that was left was to cry out to the dark, really.

"Please, Alfred!", he begged of someone he wasn't even certain was alive. "You have to-"

Bullets pierced the air and interrupted him.

"Al, I- we can't lose you!", Matthew added, narrowly dodging the bursts of flame. "You- you're the strong one here, without you-"

He cut himself off suddenly as a loud cry came from elsewhere in the hall. Before Arthur could ask him to come back, Matthew had vanished, only detectable in careful ripples running in the direction of the noise.

So Arthur was left swiping at the air, melting bullets and matching fireballs with a magic flame Lukas had shown him how to use. God, that felt like so long ago, when excitement and intrigue rather than dread filled his role as England. It'd felt like some sort of wonderful secret, like sneaking an extra sweet when Mummy wasn't looking, full of some immature pride.

But now all he felt was resignation. He was going to die, by his little brother's hands, no less. He'd failed to stay at Francis's side, failed to protect the twins from the world, failed to help anyone at all. He was worthless as a member of SERAPH, worthless as a mentor, worthless as a big brother.

Did he have any reason to keep fighting? Him and Alfred were nearly evenly matched, and he probably could defeat him if he put his mind to it. It would be the simplest thing, just wait for an opening and blast him. But if Alfred was still in there somewhere, that would surely kill him.

Was that right? They'd come there to kill everyone else for good, so he should just end it quickly to ease his brother's suffering. Only foolish hope stopped him from doing so, foolish hope that Al could still be saved.

If he was truly that sentimental, perhaps it'd be more fitting to join him, join Francis and whoever else they'd failed. If his only options were to kill his brother or be his victim, then-

That train of thought was swiftly derailed by a flood of red and brown entering his vision. A familiar looking young man- Antonio, was it?- rushed towards his brother's corpse, a storm of brightly glowing leaves accompanying him.

Alfred stumbled back, and Antonio turned to look at him, smiling brightly. "Oh, hey!", he greeted, his tone matching the situation about as well as toothpaste matched orange juice. "You're Francis's ex, right?"

"Yes, but that's hardly important right now," Arthur replied dismissively.

From those glowing leaves rose a few vines that rushed towards Alfred and coiled around his limbs, trying to pull him backwards. "Well, just thought since we've never really met before, and this might be our only real chance to talk, might as well introduce myself, right?", Antonio explained.

Francis truly had the strangest tastes in company. First that halfway insane Gilbert, now someone who thought a battlefield was the perfect place to make friends? Not to mention himself…

Upon not receiving a response, the grin on Antonio's face dropped a bit as he turned towards the struggling Alfred. "Yeah, maybe not the best idea," he admitted. "Still, if I don't get the chance later, I want to thank you."

"Thank me?", Arthur repeated, indignantly.

"Well, even if you sort of screwed up along the way, you've helped my friends out a lot, right?"

The praise was unwarranted in every way. If the poor man knew that he was partially responsible for letting Feliciano and his brother fade away, he'd surely be trying to hasten his demise rather than prolong it.

But it was kindness and it was warmth and he truly appreciated it, so he simply muttered a thank you and darted around, trying to see if anyone else was about to attack. There weren't many others around, with an arrow piercing the air from one direction and some magic blasts from another, leaving it just the two of them and whatever was left of Alfred, tied up and struggling.

Well, make that a no longer tied up Alfred. A bright flash filled the air, the vines burnt away, leaving Arthur wondering how exactly they might have held up so long against someone with fire powers.

Antonio let out something between a gasp and a groan and charged towards Alfred with the same leaf storm as before, but another burst of flame collided with the leaves and collided with his chest. He let out a pained cry, and as Arthur ran to help, he saw a pulsating green patch of scorched skin that made him want to be sick.

"I- no!", Antonio stuttered out. "No-not now, not after…"

He turned to Arthur, and despite the grimace of pain on his face, started backing away. "Can you take me down?", he requested. "And- Francis, Roma, can you please-"

Some strained cry, something between a retch and a sob came from Antonio's mouth as his eyes began to glow. Whatever was left of him swung his axe over his shoulder and began to charge towards Arthur.

Well, he supposed his last request couldn't be ignored, so Arthur formed a spell circle at his feet, the bright blue light overpowering the sickly shade of the room. "Sorry, you seemed very nice," he muttered under his breath as the comet streaks began to fill the air around his target. A memory flew back; one of him mock-fighting Lukas alongside Feliciano and Kiku. Despite himself, he grinned a bit as his magic crashed down on its target. "Hex Storm!"

But as they crashed into Antonio's body, Arthur felt a piercing pain in his own chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Alfred staring lifelessly at him, pistol pointed at his chest.

The bright green flooded his vision. Looking between his target, who was standing back up, and his brother, Arthur shook his head.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath. "I wanted to... I wanted to... save you…"

* * *

A panicked cry spurred Matthew into action, but truthfully, he didn't expect to be of much help. Really, he just wanted to have an excuse to get away from Alfred's body. He knew it was useless to reason with him, to beg him to come back, to tell him how he couldn't imagine anything worse than living without his brother.

So instead, he rushed to the aid of a person it took him until he was holding his glorified hockey stick of a weapon against the blade that was about to strike him to recognize. Roderich, Austria, a man who looked all but completely broken inside and had barely even tried to fight back against the girl attacking him.

Breathlessly, he was thanked by the man, but Matthew was a bit more concerned with trying to force their assailant back. Not exactly easy, given his powerset, and if he blinked out of visibility he'd more likely direct her focus to Roderich than catch her off guard. But he managed to hold up well enough until the a blade ran into her side, followed by a few arrows that wildly missed their mark.

Their attacker fell to the ground, the green fading from her eyes and skin, and Gilbert pulled his sword out of her body awkwardly. "Rod, what the hell were you thinking?", he questioned half under his breath.

"I acted recklessly," Roderich admitted. "And I am well aware I have no place here."

"You really don't." Gilbert turned to him and grabbed his shoulders, but then pulled his arm forward and his other one back and adjusted it a few times while sliding the bow in his hand slightly upwards. He then winked and turned him towards a green-glowing young man in some sort of blue robe in the distance. "Really, with how precise you are holding a violin bow, you're actually pretty crap with real ones."

A sideways, almost exasperated smile, and Roderich let the bowstring snap, sending some energy arrow towards the figure. "Your form with that sword isn't exactly flawless," he countered.

"We don't need flawless, we need effective!", Gilbert insisted. "And you're a lot of things, but effective isn't one of them."

He had to wonder, why was Gilbert so relaxed? Was it because of what they'd talked about in the car, and he'd just come to terms with everything, because Matthew was a bit envious that he could keep that mindset up.

But as more streaks of light formed by Roderich's face, he could see the tear tracks running down it. His fiancee had just died, right? Elizaveta, she'd been the second to fall, right after Alfred…

So Gilbert was smiling for him, maybe for both of them, and to be honest, it was helping. So as much as it hurt, Matthew tried to force one as well as he tried that thing he'd done before, that weird power booster. Focusing his power onto Roderich, he saw the arrows of light grow bigger and brighter.

"Am I-"

"It's Mattie," Gilbert corrected before he could finish the sentence. Roderich let the arrow fly, and it knocked the blue-robed guy back considerably.

Roderich turned to him and gave something of a nod of approval. "Very nice, thank you."

Maybe… maybe they had this? Maybe they were alright? Everything still felt tense, but even the stinging pain Alfred left was just there, not biting or burning.

Well, he was fine saying that to himself up until a bright storm of light filled the air, narrowly missing his head. Looking up, he saw Tino with a glazed-over, green-tinged expression.

"Them too?", he muttered under his breath, and he slipped into that shimmering haze where he could barely see himself. It was hard to do both that and try to keep the power boost going at the same time, but he wasn't any better at fighting than Austria.

Beside the lightning shone bursts of violet flame and splinters of wood. Berwald and Lukas were standing like puppets beside him, the green as bright on them as on Tino. Gilbert gave a panicked gasp and flung up what seemed to be a metal shield in front of them, hovering in the air.

"You two, just back away slowly," he ordered. "If you can, find where Ludi and everyone got off to, it should be safer than here."

Roderich looked like he was about to protest, but then muttered a "thank you" and ran off.

Matthew, on the other hand, couldn't bring himself to move. He was weak, he knew that, and his chances of survival were limited. But running from the few scraps remaining of his brother? Refusing to find and help Francis? It was unthinkable.

As sparks hit the shield, Gilbert turned towards him and sighed. "I know you're still there," he almost whispered. "I'll be fine, seriously, just-"

He stopped midsentence as a bright blue circle of glyphs formed under Matthew's feet, followed by a spray of flames headed towards him. His invisibility faltered as his heart started beating faster.

Before he could even think, he felt something ram into him, knocking him away from the spell circle. For a moment, he was certain he'd been hit, but then he saw Gilbert, collapsed in the fading circle as light and flames ran into him. He let out a pained cry before slowly standing up.

Green was spreading across his body, through his veins and into his eyes. The shield separating Matthew and the Nordics crumbled.

All that bravery, all that courage, all that acceptance, Matthew desperately searched for it. He had to protect his family, protect his friends, protect friends he was yet to meet, he told himself, but all he could think about was how Arthur was slowly approaching him, every sign of infection clear across his face.

His invisibility flickered back on, and he ran like hell. Please, he begged, just let someone else be alive, but every face his eyes caught was stained with green.

For a terrifying moment, he was certain he was alone, certain he'd been left the only one standing. At least, until he saw one of the corpses being pushed back by a crimson stream of flame and another by a spray of icy wind.

Standing back to back, Feliks and Ivan seemed to be holding their own against the zombies, keeping them at bay as best they could.

Matthew rushed towards them, praying perhaps three of them could be enough until they found a way to escape.

* * *

 _ **AN- Sorry this took so long to get up, I've been busy. But whatever, we needed this chapter between the beginning and whatever befalls Italy because, well, it's better for the pacing to see how Italy has about zero chance of saving everyone before he tries to find a way. Also, I know I broke the Flag Color Chapter Title rule, but A, the only color the flags of Liechtenstein, Norway, England, and Canada have in common is red and I couldn't think of a good red title, and B, the reference was too perfect to pass up. (In brightest day, in blackest night, no nerd joke shall escape my sight.) Not really banking on anyone but me finding it funny, though. Anyways, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	65. White Chalk

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty Six- White Chalk_

Heracles led them past the broken tanks and down a narrow hallway, through a room filled with examination tables and green fluid that made Italy feel sick, and down yet another small hallway until he stopped in front of a rather plain looking door. He fiddled with the doorknob for quite a few seconds as Romano tapped his foot impatiently, until it finally opened.

"I'm so sorry I had to bring you here, but it's the only door I could find that's open," Heracles apologized, standing in the doorway to block their entrance momentarily. "But I couldn't bring myself to touch anything when I came in the first time, and I don't think there's any time to clean it up."

Romano attempted to force his way past him. "Yeah, okay, I don't care how much blood's in there, we need to get-"

As Heracles stepped aside, Romano sort of stumbled in, and stopped for a moment, simply looking around without a word. It seemed to be covered with white chalk marks, but it was hard to make out what it depicted, so Italy slowly followed him in only to be let out a small gasp as he caught sight of one of the drawings on the opposite wall.

A very cute drawing of a smiling boy with long hair and squinted eyes, complete with a piece of hair curling away from the rest. Even if it was a bit more… stylized than he was used to, it was very clearly him. But under it, a few words were written.

"Feliciano- I am sorry I could not save you. I am glad you were in my life."

Tears started burning at the corners of his eyes, and he turned his attention to the drawing beside it. Slicked back hair, sharp eyes, very handsome, even in the hurried sketch; clearly Ludwig, as notated by the words below it.

"Ludwig- I hate to have left you. Please, you have to be strong without us. We will always love you, and we will meet again someday."

Someone's hand grabbed Italy's wrist, and he jumped before realizing it was Ludwig.

"I-is this Kiku?", he questioned in a whisper. Turning around towards Heracles, he added "Did he do all this, I mean?"

Heracles gave a solemn nod. "It seems this is where he was held, where he- where he died."

Looking around, Italy forgot about the corpses, about the direness of the situation. He was standing in the his friend's final words. How could anything be more important than that?

It seemed he'd etched a portrait of near everyone he could think of on the walls, and some final thoughts to them below. In a way, it was rather beautiful, but more than anything, it made Italy just feel like curling up and crying, and begging Kiku to forgive him for being unable to save him.

"Leon- I am sorry I couldn't avenge you. I will see you soon."

"Yong Soo and Mei- I am sorry I couldn't help your cause. SERAPH lives on, even if I wasn't any help to it."

"Heracles- I never told you this outright, but I love you so much it makes me sick. I will always regret having been unable to say that plainly."

"Arthur- Please forgive me for failing you."

"Alfred- We weren't friends for long, but I'm glad I knew you. I know you can be our hero, I know you can finish this."

"Yao- My dearest brother, I love you more than I could ever say. Please, just consider what SERAPH has to say. I believe in them, and I believe in you."

The last two were the most painful by far, so filled with hope and faith in people who were lost to them.

"We- we need to get to work!", Romano suddenly blurted out. "Ven, sit down, you need to start finding a way out!"

Shakily, Italy sat down, only for his eyes to be caught by a mess of words on the floor. They seemed to be sprouting from a singular spot, like Kiku had sat there and been unable to move as he wrote them.

A lot of it appeared to be a poem, or perhaps lyrics to songs he'd never heard. But closer to the center, there was a single phrase repeated over and over:

"Kiku Honda"

Was it a reminder of the one who expired in the place? Or was it a reminder to the one dying? Regardless, the words soon became hard to see through the tears.

"Please, now's not the time to mourn!", Ludwig exclaimed, his voice wavering notably.

Romano quickly added. "You need to look into the future, or the past, or wherever we can find an answer!"

From the center of the chalk, Italy could see two things: a half-used stick of white chalk and a marking in blood. Two characters. 日本. Nihon. Japan.

He looked up and nodded, and Ludwig knelt down beside him and offered his hand. Deep breaths, he had to be strong, Kiku was counting on them.

"I- I can do this," he repeated under his breath. "I can-"

Romano took his other hand and shook his head. "Not alone, you won't."

"Huh? Oh…" Vaguely, he remembered Grandpa Rome once telling him about Romano's powers. He couldn't see the future, but he could see what his brother saw. He'd never asked Roma about it, mostly out of fear of what exactly he might have saw, but he guessed that might mean he could share his visions.

"Dunno if I can use it on Ludwig too, but I'll try," Romano offered. "Heracles, you tell us if anyone's coming, alright?"

Heracles gave a nod, and Italy closed his eyes, trying to access something he'd long since blocked off. Something inside of him, a power primal and raw. With all that time devoted to blocking it out, he wasn't even certain he could still do it until suddenly he felt himself floating back.

The blackness behind his eyes began to take form. It was the same room, with Kiku lying near-motionlessly about where they were sitting. He was tracing shapes with a gash on his finger until the door creaked open.

Slowly, Kiku got to his feet and took wobbling steps out into the narrow hallway until he reached the same room with all the examination tables. It was far from empty, and as Kiku looked around, he quickly recognized the two strapped down, with a green glowing liquid being pumped into their veins.

Lithuania. Romania. He felt Romano's hand tighten around his. They looked half dead, with glowing veins and little more than just skin and bones to their bodies, but they seemed to somehow be fighting. An occasional twitch would come from them.

Kiku scrambled towards them, putting a hand on one of Lithuania's straps and searching desperately for a way to undo it before Romania opened one of his eyes, stained bright green, and laughed. Jumping a bit, Kiku began to look around before hoarsely asking "What- what is this?"

"I was wondering the same," stated another oddly weak voice. Switzerland was on the other side of the room, leaning against a wall as if he'd collapse without it.

Kiku opened his mouth as if to say something, but a shadow appeared behind him. "T-turn around!", Switzerland exclaimed, but just as Kiku made a motion to turn his head, the shadow injected a syringe into his arm and he fell to the ground.

"N-no!", someone shouted, but Italy couldn't tell if it was within the vision itself or not. Regardless, it seemed to shake the picture a bit, making it fracture into pieces and leaving Italy with the sensation of falling.

A voice pierced the air, and though it was incredibly familiar, he couldn't tell where it was coming from. "You choose to stand here so easily? To defy Rome's dying wish?"

"I have to!", he countered. "I'm sorry, but there's not another way!"

"Well, you're not wrong," the voice mused. "Truthfully, I can't say I'd act any differently in your place."

Another voice chimed in. "Fratello, you can do this! I have little power here, but I'll do all I can to guide your hand."

Something flickered before his eyes, the scene of a darkened street. Lamps shone all around it, illuminating two figures. They were huddled close together, their breath coming out in plumes of fog.

"I- I don't want it to end like this," one of them whispered.

The other shook his head defiantly, and Italy found himself smiling a bit once he realized who it was.

"You're not dying here, Liet," Poland vowed. And it was Poland, not Feliks, with that unmistakable aura of vibrance and fire in his eyes. This was far into the past, before Italy's own death, when things were only beginning to fall apart.

Before Poland and Lithuania appeared some odd machine, hovering in the air and with red lights all around it. While Lithuania closes his eyes, as if in silent acceptance, Poland clenched his fists and seemed to stare it down.

"What are you waiting for, if you want our lives, take them already!"

The machine seemed more than happy to take him up on that offer, and from it extended what seemed to be thousands of knives and thin wires, pointed at the two of them and seeming to trap them in as the wires grew closer together. But as they started to tear into their skin, from both of Poland's hands sprang bright flame, not burning into their attackers, but into their very bodies.

And as in a sickeningly familiar show, the two started to be torn apart by the drone, the flame seemed to be piecing them back together as fast faster than they could be destroyed. Shards of red filled the air like confetti, but they both remained standing, shining crimson like the flame.

Lithuania let out a gasp. "It- it's working?"

"Told you you'd be fine," Poland affirmed. "Quickly, let's destroy this thing!"

A few shots from Lithuania's crossbow hit the drone, bathed in Poland's flames, but they bounced off harmlessly. Poland's eyes widened in terror as he quickly pushed Lithuania aside, stumbling through the ribbons of red and out of the drone's reach.

"Run!", Poland ordered, but Lithuania simply produced his shield and charged towards the drone.

"Not a… chance…" he exclaimed as he tried to push the machine back. "Not from… you!"

The scene cut out, but with a brief image of red confetti alone filling the air and a faint voice. "Sorry... I wasn't strong enough… to save us…"

"Why… why do we have to watch them die?", Romano questioned loudly, seemingly choking on the words. "Why do we have to see something like that again?"

He wasn't sure if it was the vision or not, but Italy could practically see Spain getting ripped to shreds in much the same way for their sake. "I- I don't-"

"There must be a reason," Ludwig insisted. "Perhaps it's Feliks?"

"Huh?"

Ludwig quickly elaborated. "His healing powers seem incredible, perhaps somehow that can keep us alive long enough to find a way out?"

"Look, that was Poland, not Feliks," Romano countered. "Kinda doubt as he is now he could take all of that."

Italy was stricken with an idea. They needed to see what Feliks was capable of, see if perhaps he could somehow protect them, so he tried to guide his mind's eye in that direction.

Some sort of empty lot formed before them, and someone who was more definitively Feliks stood in it, with Lithuania, or rather Toris collapsed in a pool of blood beside him. Feliks was bent over him with tears in his eyes.

"Please, Toris, stay with me! I can't lose you again!", he exclaimed, and in a white flash he took Poland's form, the same flame that had bound their bodies together in the past shining in his hands.

A tear in Toris's shirt revealed what seemed to be a shot, straight through his side, but it healed almost instantly as Feliks's flames touched it. He let out a surprised gasp as the wound closed.

Behind him, a man holding a rifle, Switzerland walked up. "You really are impressive, aren't you?", he questioned.

"Get away from him!", Feliks spat, throwing a handful of flames towards Switzerland, who jumped back.

Several guns hovered at Switzerland's side, all aimed towards the two of them. "Please, step away," he insisted. "I have no desire to hurt either of you-"

Flames hit him in the chest, and the guns all started to fire rapidly, but fire continued to engulf the targets' bodies. Every wound closed as soon as it opened, with Feliks letting out a determined cry before the light began to fade from his eyes and the flames started to waver.

"Impressive, truly," Switzerland remarked. "I apologize for this, but I believe you'll be useful enough to keep us both alive."

Feliks collapsed on the ground next to Toris, and all three were whisked away in a burst of light.

But the scene didn't fade, only changed, to a dark laboratory illuminated only by glowing test tubes.

Two people were in the room, one strapped to a table and the other fiddling with some of the beakers.

The concocting one, voice revealing him as Romania, directed an odd question at the restrained one, who appeared to be Toris."Tell me, do you believe in love?"

"In… love?", Toris repeated. "What?"

"Do you think that the strength of a person's relationships hold power that can be manifested?", clarified Romania.

The vision seemed to skip ahead a bit, to Toris giving an unsure answer. "Well, I guess so, but why are you bringing this up?"

Rushing across the room with a beaker in hand, Romania explained. "Because, Lithuania, that's why you're not dead, best I can gather."

"Because of love?"

"Well, because that friend of yours with healing powers went kinda overboard trying to save you after you got shot up. He didn't remember it when questioned, but Switzerland said he saw him trying to heal you to the point he blacked out himself. So your friend put some pretty powerful healing magic in your veins, and we're having a terrible time trying to get it out."

The words echoed through the air. Something clicked in Italy's mind. Another skip, to the two of them strapped on tables and glowing green, but still struggling. Was it possible? That Poland's powers could keep them safe.

Beside him, Ludwig let out a sort of gasp. "I think I know what we need to do," he declared.

"Yeah, stay with Firebird so we don't get turned into zombies," Romano stated flatly.

"No, that's not it," Ludwig clarified. "At least, not all. Feliks, if his powers were able to stave off that all that, if it can heal surface wounds- Italy, do you happen to know if he can heal poison?"

He tried to think back, before his eyes a nostalgic scene flickered, two small children in a field. One was knelt down next to the other, small flames flickering around a snakebite on the other's leg. It healed as quickly as any other wound. Italy found himself chuckling, he remembered that day well. He'd been so scared, then so in awe of his friend's powers.

"I see…", Ludwig muttered. "So, if he can heal such wounds, who's to say Feliks couldn't purge those infected of that green… well, I presume it's a toxin, but I can't really say."

Italy tried to look forward, to see if that was a result, but his concentration was broken by a pained scream that came from the world beyond the veil he was gazing through.

He felt the vision fall away with a shudder, only to see an arrow imbedded in Heracles's chest. It filled the room with a green glow, and Heracles seemed to be stumbling away from them, slowly turning a sickly shade.

Before Italy could so much as react, Ludwig sent out a mess of silver threads that pinned Heracles in place as his eyes began to glow.

"We need to go, now!", Ludwig commanded, grabbing his hand and rushing past Heracles.

* * *

 _ **AN- See, I had a reason for focusing so much on Poland. You know, other than the fact he's my favorite. Also, yeah, I've been waiting for Japan's Room Full of Chalk Crazy since like, chapter five. Glad I finally got to use it. Plus, Romano actually has powers! Not saying I ripped them off from the fifth Pokemon movie, but to be fair, it was set in Venice. I know that's North, but still. Well, it seems the end is drawing ever nearer, but regardless, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	66. White Flame

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty Seven- White Flame_

Heracles had been converted by Roderich, it seemed. Well, given that he was not too far outside the door and had his bow primed to strike once more, it was about the only option.

Ludwig gave him a wide-eyed gape as he shoved a block of metal his way. A nagging voice in the back of Italy's mind told him that he should feel the same, upset at the fall of another one of the people dear to him. But the horror of the situation was starting to wear off. He just dashed through the halls, praying that Feliks still stood.

That horror, however, began anew the moment he found himself back in the corridor they'd all gathered in.

Everywhere he looked, he could see nothing but green. Green leaking out of the bodies on the floor. Green glowing from the limp people staggering around, weapons swaying at their sides. Green lingering in the air, like clouds of glowing mist, likely a combination of the blood shed there and the attacks still crossing the air.

Scanning the crowd, he just prayed there was someone, anyone left. Berwald? He was infected, judging by the bright veins on his neck. Erika? Why was she there? But her eyes were a glowing green all the same. Antonio? He was turned away, hardly within his line of sight, maybe he had survived?

But as he turned around, that hope vanished quickly as Romano muttered a plea under his breath. "No, no, please god no…" The desperation in his voice gave away Antonio's fate before the green glow did. "Not you, not..."

"Gilbert!", Ludwig cried out, to a figure with glowing green eyes holding a sword. Undoubtedly Gilbert, undoubtedly gone, but Ludwig still cried out. "No, please, you can't-"

Ludwig fell silent suddenly, and Italy's heart stopped for half a second until the air around him shimmered a bit and Matthew revealed himself, placing a hand over Ludwig's mouth. "Please, you can't draw their attention like that!", he whispered harshly.

"Of course, I'm sorry," Ludwig apologized as soon as Matthew stepped away from him. "I'm just glad there's someone else left."

Matthew gave a nod. "I'm glad you all were alright. With just the three of us, I was starting to get scared we wouldn't last much longer!"

"Who else?", Italy quickly asked, praying that the remaining three included Feliks. If it didn't, their only plan would be worthless.

"Um, me, Ivan, and Feliks," Matthew stated, and Italy had to swallow back a victorious cry.

But instead of a cry, a stuttered out "wh-where are-?" came out, and Matthew's eyes flitted around the air until a burst of crimson flame pierced the air.

Grabbing Italy by the wrist, Matthew beckoned them to follow as he darted around the aimless zombies, who seemed to either ignore him or simply not notice. They seemed to notice the rest of them a bit more, but Ludwig and Romano continued to force them back as they dashed towards the bursts of red light.

And soon, Italy laid eyes on a sight he never thought he would see in a million years: Poland and Russia fighting together. The flames and ice flowed around each other almost effortlessly, their wielders standing back to back. It was beautiful, in a strange, poetic way, but interrupted as the two saw the people approaching them.

"You- you made it back?", Ivan questioned, almost in disbelief. "How wonderful! Have you found a way out?"

Despite opening his mouth to answer, Italy found himself interrupted by Feliks's strained gasp. "Heracles… isn't with you?", he questioned, looking between them furiously, as if checking to see if he missed someone.

"He… didn't make it," Ludwig explained. "But, it shouldn't matter so long as you're safe. You see-"

"Don't say it doesn't matter!", Feliks countered. "He was the closest thing to a friend I had in this sorry hellhole! If anyone shouldn't matter, it's me! I-"

Hearing him talk like that was impossibly hard to hear, and Italy cut him off with a far too loud "Stop!"

"Look, we're not saying his death doesn't matter, we're saying he's not dead!", Romano explained. "At least, he's not dead unless you are."

Feliks looked confused, but Italy searched for the words to explain it. "Um, your healing powers, they're strong enough to mend an entire body back together from just torn pieces! That's what saw, so if you can do that, then surely you can heal the green stuff out of everyone who's infected, right?"

"You think that's not the first thing I tried?", Feliks countered, sidestepping an arrow from the distance and watching it fly past him sadly. "As soon as we found them, I tried to, but it just ended up almost getting me killed!"

His stomach dropped and Italy desperately tried to think of a way to make it untrue. "Um… try it again!", he requested.

Despite giving him a questioning look, Feliks lunged towards the nearest corpse, that of Belarus, and shot a burst of glittering flame towards her. It didn't burn her, didn't do a thing. She simply stood and took it, knife held listlessly at her side. "See? Doesn't work!"

"No, it has to!", Italy countered. "Um…"

"Perhaps he's not strong enough as he is," Ludwig suggested. "This isn't the same Poland from those visions. But if he were more powerful…"

Matthew's eyes lit up at the words. "I- I can do that!", he exclaimed. "Remember, back in the car, with the vines?"

Whatever that was, it seemed Feliks instantly understood it. "You're right! Help me out here, let's try again!"

A sort of shimmer, not unlike his invisibility, filled the air around Matthew as he rushed next to Feliks. The flames sparking in his hands turned a soft white color, and he shot them towards Belarus once more.

This time, her body was enveloped by the flames, but instead of nothing happening, the flames turned a bright green and dissipated. But as the flames cleared, there was no body to be seen. Ashes fluttered in the air, but no one stood before them.

"N-Natalia!", Ivan cried out, looking around, like perhaps the flame had pushed his sister away.

Romano shook his head. "She's dead. She was dead before this, but now she can rest."

Ivan shook his head. "I- I'm sorry," he muttered. "I couldn't save her!"

"You did save her!", Matthew assured him. "From being a puppet, from being unable to rest in peace! I'm sorry, but we need to save them, even if it's like this!"

"Italy, Romano, you make sure none of them get too close to us," Ludwig ordered. "Ivan, help me do the same. Feliks, Matthew, blast anything that comes our way. Even if we can't save them, we can free them."

Something was reassuring in the way Ludwig said that, but not in the thought. He didn't want to just free everyone, he wanted to return his friends to life.

Regardless, he sent waves of light towards Gilbert, who was staggering towards them, and bit his tongue as Feliks sent another burst of white flame his way.

Gilbert jumped out of the way, just as it was about to hit, but instead, the flame made contact with Elizaveta just behind him.

As the green fluid burned away from her, Italy could hear the beginnings of a sob from Feliks, along with a whispered apology. But, as the flames cleared, Elizaveta still stood. Her eyes widened and she looked around in shock. "I- I don't-" she muttered, before mustering a faint smile. "Don't apologize, you're doing fine…"

After this she did collapse, but breaths still shuddered in her body. She was alive and well, it seemed.

Someone let out a gasp, but it was impossible to tell who. "Does this mean we can… save them?", Matthew questioned.

Another white flame rushed towards Gilbert, this time hitting him squarely in the chest. The green dissolved in a fiery burst, and he shot a sideways grin at his brother before falling to the floor just as Elizaveta had.

"This is working!", Ludwig exclaimed in excitement. "We need to keep going!"

Italy shot up a few bursts of light like signal flares, aiming to get the infected Nations' attention. "Come and get us!", Romano added in a loud cry.

A few green streaks of light sped towards them, but Ludwig quickly blocked them. Another flash, and their casters were caught in a white burst of flame, leaving England and Norway falling to the ground.

More familiar bodies staggered towards them, Estonia and America. But as Estonia burned away, America collapsed.

More and more would get caught in a single blast, some instantly burning away, others seeming to mutter something before their eyes would flutter shut and they'd sit down. Soon, the crowd thinned out, only a few staggering around still.

But a few, no matter how many times they were caught in the blast, kept getting up. It was too dark for Italy to make out who exactly they were, but soon, they were the only four left, and he was able to draw the lines between them.

Japan, Switzerland, Lithuania, Romania. Feliks kept looking between them in confusion. "Why won't they go down?", he questioned.

"I don't know!", Italy exclaimed. "I saw them together in this room with operating tables in one of my visions. It looked like they got infected while they were still alive, but not like the others. They just got pumped full of that stuff!"

"So they're like, really infected?", Feliks reiterated.

Ludwig let out an odd sigh. "If you want to put it that way, yes."

"So, we just need to really flame them!", Feliks concluded. "Ivan, don't you have that weird drain-y power that makes people stronger?"

"It just makes them use more of their power at once," Ivan clarified. "But, I think that could work. You'd really only be able to get one shot out of it, though, if you used everything up at once."

"So?", Feliks questioned. "Let's do it!"

Scanning the air, Ludwig sent a few wires into the edge of the room, and then repeated the process a few times, leaving a smaller and smaller gap between the wires every time. By the time he stopped, the four seemed cornered into a considerably smaller space, but still too small for any considerable attempt to get them all in one go to be attempted.

"Um, we need to lure them a bit closer together," Ludwig advised. "One second, let me-"

In a flash of light, Italy was certain he saw a vision, one of Ludwig rushing in the middle of the four remaining and his heart being pierced by a bolt of green. Without thinking, Italy pushed him aside and enacted this maneuver himself. Was there no real danger? Probably, but he still couldn't stand the thought of losing him, even if for the briefest of moments.

"No, stop I-" Ludwig cried out, but Italy was already shooting more signal flares into the air.

"C-come and get me!", he stuttered out, and four heads turned his way. Trying not to flinch as streaks of magic and bolts of green light rushed at him, he bit his tongue once more to hold back a scream.

But before any of that could happen, Romano cried "Now!", and a brilliant burst of white flame rushed into him. It didn't burn. In fact, it was freezing cold, but as it turned a blinding shade of lime, Italy stumbled backwards, hoping not to let that green shade anywhere near him.

A thud behind him, and the stream of flame vanished with Feliks collapsing to the ground. However, the four figures caught in the flames still stood, making Italy let out a sigh of relief. Kiku would live, not turn to dust.

Well, he would live as soon as he woke, for all four of them collapsed just the same. The entire ground of the corridor was filled with shakily breathing bodies, save for five. Italy, Romano, Ivan, Matthew, and Ludwig still stood, panting out the charge of adrenaline that'd filled them to the brim.

"We- we did it…", Ivan muttered in disbelief.

"How many people did we kill?", Matthew questioned shakily. "God I- I feel kind of bad about that…"

"Don't," Romano stated bluntly. "They were dead. China, Ukraine, all of them, dead. We just made sure they could come back."

A pained silence, punctuated only by a mechanical clicking. "So, what do we-"

The clicking grew into a whirring, he was cut off as a door in front of them opened. A painfully bright white light rid the room of any remnants of green. And as the grinding of gears screeched to a halt to signal the door was wholly open, Ludwig squeezed his hand.

Beyond them, in the bright light, Italy could make out two silhouettes, each with countless wires protruding from them. Somehow, he got the feeling they hadn't quite saved the day yet.

"I think this must be it," Ludwig stated, echoing his own thoughts. "Beyond here is our last battle."

"How can you be so sure?", Matthew questioned. "We still have the mastermind to take out, don't we?"

Ivan nodded. "That's right, but that's why this is it. The leader, whoever orchestrated all of this, they're surely here."

"And you know that how?", Romano countered.

"This base was the first, this base was usually the root of our more direct commands, call it a hunch, but I doubt they'd be anywhere else."

Romano gave a nod, but then turned to grab Italy's shoulders. "Fratello, I'm going to need you to go ahead without me," he commanded.

Some odd sensation of burning filled his chest and stomach, but he didn't quite think it was concern. "Why, is everything alright?"

Letting go of him, Romano turned towards the collapsed figures littering the corridor. "Well, they should be coming to in a minute," he explained. "Someone needs to tell them what the hell just happened."

"But, without you, won't we be a lot weaker?", Matthew questioned.

"Oh, I think you should be fine," Romano assured them, simply looking back towards his brother before walking away.

Inside him, something sparked, and he recognized the feeling, of magic being shot into his veins. Romano had lent him his power, hadn't he? That sparking warmth was his brother's powers. Yes, it had to be, he felt more himself than he had since long before his first death, more whole, more complete.

With that power came a sort of ease. No matter what lied ahead, everything would be fine. He was strong enough to bear it.

In an odd twist of fate, it was him to take the first steps towards the silhouettes in the distance. Everything would be alright, he assured himself, even as he started to adjust to the light and see the figures before him more clearly.

Both seemed to be some kind of mechanical device with a body strapped inside. Neither seemed to be laced with any shade of green, though. Instead, wires were attached to almost every part of their bodies but the face, like a marionette's strings.

One of the bodies he couldn't place for the life of him. A girl with deadened eyes and thick eyebrows, who looked like she was practically decaying where she stood. Some pool of something was leaking from her machine, something that looked like paint almost, but a bit too fluid. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at Ludwig, but she didn't say a word.

And the other, Italy recognized with a pang as soon as he began raising his head. He looked in much better condition than the girl, but still stared ahead hollowly. However, as the machine began to move with loud whirs, Francis quickly assumed a smile.

"Ah, hello, my dear friends," he greeted, voice straining to sound cheerful. "Very sorry we have to meet like this, but I'm glad you've gotten this far."

Letting out a pained cry, Francis's body shuddered as a familiar rapier appeared in his hand. The wires forced it into an "en garde" position while its wielder fought to maintain the smile.

"Please, won't you end this?", Francis requested, the words coming out almost as a sob. "Won't you end… us?"

* * *

 _ **AN- I hope it didn't seem like I sped through that too much, but I also didn't want this chapter to feel too repetitive. Hopefully I struck a good balance. But I guess that's not the problem, France and Wy are. See, told you she wasn't quite dead. I was saving her for the final boss battle. So, look forward to that, okay! Thank you for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	67. Rose and Thorn

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty Eight- Rose and Thorn_

The mechanical parts all forced Francis to lunge towards them, and the girl's body was pulled in the same way.

Ludwig, however, instead of trying to dodge or fight back, just stared at the girl. Not even the rush of petals Francis sent towards him seemed to phase him.

"Be careful!" Italy quickly pulled him back before the attack hit him with the end of his flag.

"I…" Ludwig seemed to snap out of whatever had taken him over, shaking his head quickly and drawing his weapon out. "Sorry, I don't know what that was."

That girl, however, seemed to be staring back, not even attempting to use the ink leaking from her machine or attack them in any way. Italy couldn't think of who she was supposed to be for the life of him. She had to be a Nation of some sort, but she seemed so young, and she didn't look very familiar. The only tell was her eyebrows, which were as thick as any of England's family's.

"Who are you?", he tried to ask her as he blocked one of Francis's strikes.

She didn't answer, just closed her eyes as a rather unthreatening ball of paint show towards them, bouncing onto the ground and splattering a few feet in front of them. It sizzled in a way that paint really wasn't supposed to, which combined with its bright green color made it look more like acid.

"I believe she's named 'Wy'," Francis explained, despite his body being forced to stab at the air in front of Ivan. "Apparently it found her nearly dead and tried to use her to figure out how to get full-powered Nations under its control, but just threw her in this after it didn't work."

He gave an odd chuckle as more petals filled the air. "She really is putting up a good fight for just a Micronation, though."

"Wy" didn't say a word, just sent out another glob of paint, which failed to do anything.

Even though Italy didn't recognize the name, it seemed Ludwig did. "You- you're Wy?", he questioned, blocking one of Francis's shots in the meantime.

No response, but it seemed he didn't need one. "Thank you," Ludwig quickly stated. "My brother wanted to tell you that, for giving him Gilbird."

A small smile came to the girl's mouth, and Ludwig rushed towards her, threads of silver shooting around the machine she was trapped in. "I'll hold her back, you all finish Francis off," he called.

Finish… Francis off? No, surely he didn't mean it like that. Francis wasn't in the wrong, they needed to save him, right?

"What are you waiting for? I- I'm perfectly vulnerable!", Francis called to them, seemingly noting their hesitation. "My body's exposed, a few well-placed blows could easily finish me off!"

"We won't hurt you!", exclaimed Matthew, taking the words right out of Italy's mouth. "I don't care, we just won't!"

"Surely, there's a way to shut this down," Ivan added, glancing around the room.

Francis shook his head. "Perhaps, but I wouldn't know it. Please, you all need to get out of here before that vile creature pulls anymore tricks from his sleeves. So kill me and get it over with."

Ivan sent a few shots not towards Francis's body, but the machine's armor, and gave an ominous sort of half-grin. "Can't you just talk us into killing you, if you truly want us to do it so badly? Or I could simply strip you of your powers instead?"

Another shake of the head as Francis lunged at them, narrowly missing Ivan and instead tearing his scarf a bit. "I couldn't; I can do a lot, but I could never make someone else kill. And please don't try to take away my powers, I shudder to think what this machine might do if it runs off whatever's built into it rather than my rather unimpressive power set."

Matthew produced his staff and the air turned to an odd haze, obscuring his body. He resurfaced behind Francis, attempting to strike the cords.

After a second, the machine awkwardly turned around to face Matthew.

Matthew attempted to dart back once more "Please, we'll find a way to save you, I swear!", he exclaimed.

"But don't you see?", Francis countered as he threw out another sword strike. "This is all my fault. I allowed it to take your lives, just so our next ones could be better."

Despite his eyes growing wide in panic, Matthew calmly shook his head. "They are better!", he insisted. "These lives… there's so much we've done in them that we couldn't have as Nations!"

"That was the hope," sighed Francis. "But, you all ended up fighting, and this time not even for a cause you believed in."

As he dodged a blast of petals, Italy noticed Matthew was casting him a look, as if silently pleading with him to say something. He searched for the words desperately. "Big brother, there's so much being a human brought us!", he exclaimed. "I- I got to grow up with Romano! I got to be with Germany! I got to be with Grandpa Rome again! Or at least, I got to have a Grandpa again. Even if I don't remember it that well, I wouldn't trade having lived Feliciano's life for the world!"

It was Francis's turn to have his eyes widen in panic. "You- you don't remember?", he repeated, as if in disbelief. After a moment, he sighed once more. "Of course. The machine, I am so sorry, Feli. I should have protected you, you're far more important than any atonement. And Matthew,"

He turned towards Matthew once more, and despite his rapier readying itself, smiled kindly. "You and your brother are more important than any of the rest of them combined. I only wish I could have been your ally and not your enemy, and that I wouldn't have pulled Arthur away from you."

"Then help us break you out of here!", Matthew countered. "Today's the day we end this fighting, and you'll be by our side again!"

"Ah, wouldn't that be lovely?", Francis muttered.

"Please, Francis!", begged Matthew. "I- I don't want to lose you, not again!"

"The four of you couldn't break this machine on your own," Francis stated, the words sounding almost like an order. "I'd rather you take me and that poor girl out before it's too late."

"I don't care!," roared Matthew. "We don't care! We'll keep fighting, we'll stay with you!"

"Just listen to me, Matthew!", Francis begged. "I need you to go ahead! The leader's in the next room, surely you can figure a way to get in there, please, just-"

For a brief moment, Matthew's eyes started to dim, but he quickly shook his head. "No! I won't leave you for dead!"

A bright light started to shine around Matthew's body. It filled Italy with a sort of ease, a rush of confidence that made him feel he could destroy the machines in an instant if he wanted. Matthew was increasing their power, trying to help them break it. Francis seemed to notice this as well, questioning with a broken cry of "What are you-?"

Taking a step towards Francis, strain showing in the grimace on his face, Matthew shouted "Even... if it takes every breath… i-in my body… I'll g-get you out of here!"

"Please, stop!" The wires on Francis's arm started to force his sword towards Matthew. Quickly, Ivan rushed towards the machine, landing blunt blow after blunt blow on it. Italy found himself running alongside him, sending out shots of light that barely even dented the metal.

But despite all of Francis's begging, Matthew shook his head and continued to walk slowly towards him. "Francis… we can be… a family… we can stay together this time…"

"No, no, please, don't do this!", Francis pleaded, but it seemed to be more directed at the blade extending towards Matthew than anyone else.

As it entered his chest, Matthew let out a small gasp, before clenching his fists, the aura of power around him growing brighter. "I won't stop!", he insisted. "Not ever!"

Francis seemed to be straining to divert his aim from Matthew, but all it seemed to do was send a few stray rose petals towards the rest of them.

The sword was drawn out and stabbed back in. Matthew coughed, blood coming out in a spray. "You're... strong enough... to fight this... I know it," he insisted.

That glow, that power, it wasn't for them, Italy realized. He was trying to make Francis stronger, strong enough to break from the control himself.

"No, I'm not!", Francis insisted. "Matthew, get away from me, please just-"

The blade entered his chest once more, but as it did so, all the shining power fell away from Matthew, the long coat he was wearing being quickly replaced with what he'd worn before transforming.

"No, no, please," Francis pleaded. "You can't- Matthew, please just leave! You can't fight anymore, just please-"

Matthew's eyes looked faded and distant. Without saying a word, he seemed to try to stumble back, blood dripping down the sword as it exited his body.

"Good, now please get away from here and I promise I'll-"

With a sudden motion, Francis was forced to lunge after Matthew, the blade piercing his chest a final time. A desperate cry of "No!" echoed through the air, but his body was already crumpling to the ground.

Blood pooled on the ground. The power swelling inside of Italy started to ebb away. Matthew's glasses had shattered as he fell, laying beside the unblinking corpse of their owner.

Tears started to blur Italy's eyes, but even through them, he could tell something had worked. The machine, Francis was no longer being dragged around in it. Instead, it hung limply at his side as he leaned over Matthew's body.

"No…", he kept repeating in disbelief. "No, you can't, you have to be…"

A chain of icicles hit Francis's armor. "We need to finish this," Ivan stated. "Ludwig, there's no need to hold that girl back, we need you more here."

Ludwig stared at Matthew's body in disbelief before nodding and rushing towards one of the armor plates as his weapon turned to a crooked staff. "Perhaps if we pry the armor off we can interfere with the wiring," he suggested. "Ivan, hold him in place!"

Nodding, Ivan took a deep breath before sending freezing air at Francis's feet. Small crystals started to form on them.

However, they broke off quickly, not seeming to impede Francis's movement in the slightest. "Isn't that more your specialty?", Ivan questioned, and Ludwig quickly sent out wires to crisscross the floor.

"I suppose so, but it'll be near impossible for us to get close to him like this," he stated.

Looking down, Italy could see that was very much the case. The wires crossed the floor, leaving Francis and the machine rather isolated, but also caged the three of them away from him.

"Could you shoot it off?", Francis questioned. "Italy, I know your light strikes aren't that strong, but-"

"You want us to save you now?", Ivan questioned.

He said no more, just glanced at Matthew's body.

So Italy studied Francis's armor, trying to see it through all the rose petal blasts. Russia tried to force them away with blasts of icy wind, but it was still a bit hard to see. And he kept moving, it was impossible to find an exposed place, at least not without fear of hitting him instead.

"Ludwig, I need you to pin him in place a bit better," Italy ordered.

Despite casting him a questioning look, he sent threads to cross pretty much every point on Francis's body, until he was practically tied up. Of course, that made it nearly impossible for him to move himself, but he found a good place, with a grey mess of wires exposed.

Taking a deep breath, Italy forced all of his energy out into one shot. A brilliant ball of light hurdled into the exposed part of the armor, blowing one of the metal panels clean off.

"Great, now hit it a few more times!", Francis ordered.

Another deep breath, and Italy sent a few more shots in the same place. But, as he did so, another shot rang through the air. A cannonball was sent crashing into the strings and wires alike, ripping them all apart.

An odd static noise pierced the air as it connected with the machine, and Francis let out a small cry. Slowly, he moved his arm, made his sword vanish into light, let out a relieved sigh.

"It's stopped! " he exclaimed. "I-"

Francis let out a few sobs as he fell to his knees in front of Matthew, shakily reaching a hand out towards him. "I'm so sorry," he whispered faintly.

Italy forced himself to look away, buried that feeling of guilt, looked towards where the other shot had come from. Sealand was standing in front of them, missing his hat and looking generally disheveled, but certainly better than he remembered seeing him. His eyes darted wildly between Matthew and Wy for a moment before he took a deep breath.

"We- we need to finish this," he affirmed.

* * *

 _ **AN- Yes, I killed Canada, but honestly, I feel worse about how short this chapter ended up being. I just wanted to split up the final battle a bit so the individual events could have more focus. Anyways, sorry Mattie, I really did like you, but it had to come to this. And thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	68. White Blade

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Forty Nine- White Blade_

Wy still didn't seem at all intent on fighting them. Even after Sealand locked eyes with her, she kept staring blankly ahead, barely moving, let alone fighting.

Italy couldn't bear the thought of attacking a child like that, if he was being honest, but he had no idea if he could even call her that anymore. Her eyes were as dead as Rome's had been towards the end, and she looked even less alive than the corpses they'd fought.

None of them even made the slightest motion towards her, until Ludwig took a few steps forward, his weapon turning into a blade.

"Do you want us to kill you?", he questioned. "Or can we save you?"

She shook her head feebly, but the machine seemed to force her forward. More pools of ink spread under her feet.

Several silver needles formed in Ludwig's hand and shot towards Wy. Sealand took a deep breath and held it as he sent a cannonball her way. Ivan sent a wave of icicles, and Italy closed his eyes as he sent shots of light in the same direction.

A cracking sound pierced the air, and Wy staggered forward a bit. Blood was trickling down her face, but she was smiling.

"Please, I just want to sleep," she muttered.

The sound of her voice sent Sealand's eyes wide and he stumbled towards her with a desperate cry. "No, we can save you!", he insisted. "Please, Wy, you're alive, we can find a way, just-"

"I'm not…", she practically whispered. "The second I leave this I'll stop living."

As Sealand stared at her, she added a "It hurts, Sea…", and he gave a nod.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized as another shot hit her chest. "You're my best friend, I'm so glad to see you again, please, I'm sorry!"

Ludwig lunged forward with his blade, closing his eyes as it hit the sparking wires of the machine, and it collapsed. Pieces of metal fall off Wy's body, leaving the girl laying in a pile of machinery and blood.

Sealand rushed towards her, and Italy found himself doing the same, kneeling down and grabbing her wrist for a pulse. It was faint, fluttering, but there.

"You- you can do this!", Italy assured her. "Please, you can-"

Wy's eyes widened as they met his, and she gave a weak smile. "Hehehe… I really did protect you, didn't I?"

Protected him? What did she mean? He stuttered out an "I- I...", but Sealand cut him off before that could form a coherent sentence.

"You did," Sealand assured her. "Seborga would be happy."

"Seb?", Wy gave a faint laugh. "Hope he's not, don't want him to get used to me dying for him..."

Italy wanted to know what she meant, had Seborga asked her to protect him? But instead, he squeezed her hand. "You're okay, you'll make it, just hold on, we can get help!"

"I've been dead ages, Sea," she muttered, looking at Sealand and seemingly ignoring him. Her eyes seemed oddly cloudy. "So long, since Belarus and Holy Rome..."

"Holy Rome?", Ludwig repeated.

Now Italy was really confused, but he remembered a scene he wasn't sure if it belonged to a memory or a vision. Sunset, Belarus staggering towards him and laughing, Holy Rome saving him at the last second. Did Wy have something to do with that?

Wy looked straight at him, but he didn't think it was him she saw. "We protected you, Seborga," she said. "We protected your brothers. We got them off their trail. Please be proud of me, I did all I could!"

"I- I am proud!", he cried, despite knowing he couldn't speak for his brother. But who was h to deprive the dying girl her wish? "Wy, please, just-"

"Did I… do well?", she repeated, more breath than word.

"You did!", Sealand exclaimed. "You did, please, you can't, we-"

"My friends…" A faint chuckle, and she seemed to try to reach to touch Sealand's cheek. "Sea, I've missed you so much… I-"

She took a shuddering breath and her hand fell, her eyes staying half closed.

A few shaky breaths came from Sealand, and he placed his hands lightly on her eyelids, closing them. "I can't protect anyone, can I?", he muttered.

A door creaked open in front of them before anyone could contradict him, emerging from a bit of wall Italy never could have guessed was a door at all.

"This is it," Ivan stated firmly. "We need to go in, we need to confront the leader."

"We need to kill the leader," Ludwig corrected. "That's the only way, isn't it?"

Ivan nodded. "Yes, that's probably for the best, but-" He cast a look around the room. At Francis kneeled at Matthew's corpse, at Sealand sobbing over Wy's. "We're a bit limited on resources. I haven't any idea how strong this 'leader' is, but I fear the three of us won't be enough."

"But-" Italy searched for an explanation of how Romano had lent him his share of their power, but instead, he arrived upon something else.

"This might be crazy, but Russia, you can boost our power, right?"

Despite looking a bit annoyed at being called 'Russia', Ivan nodded. "You want me to drain your power? Well, it will certainly make you stronger, but you'll wear out quicker."

"I'm well aware," said Ludwig. "You've done it before, it's how I ended up as Holy Rome. That kind of power could do us well here."

"Well, if you think you can get it done quickly, it's not a bad idea." Swirls of purple energy formed in Ivan's hands. "I won't do it at full power, but you'll still wear out, so please, be careful."

Italy gave a nod, holding onto his flag as he started to feel sparks of energy reach out for him. A burning light, a violet flame enveloped his body. It felt like it was ripping him apart, his mind was sent reeling in a thousand directions. Something curled around him, flowing like fabric.

A cry escaped his lips as the light burst apart and he stood facing Holy Rome. No, Ludwig, he was looking at Ludwig, but the sight of the hat and robes on someone so much older than he last saw him made him tear up.

Ludwig smiled and extended a hand towards him. "That dress looks nice on you," he remarked.

Dress? Italy looked down to see a light green dress and white apron. God, that took him back. HE hadn't dressed like that in centuries, but somehow, it felt like the right way to end things.

"Looks like Kiku was right," he said with a smile. "I definitely look like a Magical Girl now."

He was pulled forward by the tug of a hand. "The look suits you, but we need to hurry."

"Right!"

Through that door was a stark white room, filled with control panels and screens. Countless monitors, watching a thousand places he recognized. Though most were cracked, he could still see a room flooded with green and broken glass, a laboratory with countless odd chemicals stocking the shelves, halls, a prison cell filled with chalk marks.

In the center of it all was a grey creature with huge eyes. It was small, unthreatening, a bit disappointing, really. Was that truly the thing that had ruined so many lives, hurt so many people he loved?

It looked up at them, and a mechanical voice pierced the air as it seemed to type something out. "Italy. Germany. Welcome."

"Don't welcome us!", Italy shouted. "You have nothing to say to any of us!"

More clacking noises, and another robotic-sounding statement. "I have much to say to you. I realize you have lost much, but I can repair much of that."

"Repair it, then!", Ludwig hissed. "Nothing you can do can bring our friends back, but you owe us whatever measly effort you can give!"

"I can bring back your friends," said the robotic voice. "I can repair your lives. Would you not want your memories of a human life restored?"

Part of Italy wanted to let out a gasp, ask it how it was possible. But he didn't trust anything that came out of this creature's mind.

It went on, even still. "All that was stolen from you, I can bring it back. I can allow you all peaceful human lives, I can allow you to see those you've lost. Would you not like all of their suffering to be erased? Would you not like to live a peaceful life alongside your little brother, Italy?"

The thought flashed through his mind. Seborga, a peaceful life, everyone happy. America and England wouldn't have to lose Canada, Japan wouldn't have to lose China, Russia wouldn't have to lose Belarus and Ukraine, Norway could be back with Iceland...

But no, that was what France had been tricked into accepting. He wouldn't be saving his friends from despair, he'd be killing them. Matthew couldn't be brought back, only Canada. It wouldn't be Kiku and Ludwig to reincarnate, but Japan and Germany.

Never in all the eons in the universe would he allow that.

In Italy's hands, a weapon materialized. Not his flag, but a rapier, shining with white light.

The alien looked almost shocked. "Please, consider my offer, I will not-"

Before it could even be allowed to finish the sentence, Italy drew the rapier back and stabbed straight through its body. Ludwig followed up with a similar strike from his lance, and in a matter of seconds, the body of the creature was nothing but a mangled mess of a dark fluid and shredded skin and flesh.

Something between a laugh and a sob escaped Italy's lips, and he threw his arms around Ludwig, half in joy and half in fear of falling. Another burst of violet hit the two of them, and a muffled feeling started ringing in his ears.

"I- I've stopped the power drain," Ivan reported. "You should be alright, but you won't be able to use your powers for a little while. Maybe days, not sure."

Ludwig pulled away from him and rushed towards someone he couldn't see, but stumbling forward a bit, he saw his boyfriend making his way towards a rather dazed-looking Gilbert.

"You did it!", Gilbert exclaimed, trapping Ludwig in a tight hug before he could even try to attempt one himself. "I'm proud of you, Ludi!"

"You had me going for a minute," Romano added, taking a few steps towards Italy before throwing his arms around him. "Thought I'd have to come tell you not to be stupid and fall for it."

A hand rested on his shoulder, and Antonio countered with a weary "Give him more credit than that, won't you? He's been through a lot."

"Oh, he's been through a lot? I've been through a lot, I had to watch you and your dumb ass get killed and come back to life!", Romano exclaimed, and Toni gave a weak laugh.

As Romano pulled away from him and proceeded to say more to Antonio, Italy found his eyes wandering to Alfred and Arthur, both knelt by their brother's body. Alfred was sobbing, and despite the fact he was yelling at Francis, tears were clearly streaming down Arthur's face.

It seemed Gilbert had noticed the corpse as well, and he rushed straight past Italy and towards Matthew. More sobs pierced the air, more cries of "No, please, not you!".

Despite barely knowing the one who'd died, Italy found his chest stinging and eyes filling with tears.

"I- why did this have to end this way?", Ludwig questioned. "I should have done more, if I wouldn't have been so distracted with Wy, I could have saved him."

"There's nothing you could have done," Italy found himself muttering, but he wasn't even convinced it was true. Maybe something could have been done, maybe Matthew could have lived, but it was too late either way.

But there was something he could have done, and a pang of guilt reverberated in his chest. "Should we have let it kill us?", he questioned softly.

Silence, then a sigh. "It wouldn't have let us reincarnate," Ludwig stated firmly. "It would have converted us all into mindless puppets again. Or at best, it would have just started the whole nightmare all over again when we did reincarnate."

Italy knew that. He knew it was all a trap, or even just a stall for time, but the doubt still lingered.

But he looked around, at his friends mourning and his friends catching their breath. And those doubts started to vanish. They were alive, they'd won, and they'd meet everyone again someday.

Grabbing Ludwig's hand, he turned towards the rest of the hall, where many still laid. "Come on, let's go find Kiku!"

* * *

 _ **AN- And that's the end! Sort of. Well, there are two more chapters, but they're just the denouement. Next chapter will be another multi-character special, and because it's one of the last ones I want you to tell me, would you rather have Romania and Switzerland have viewpoints in the second-to-last chapter, or France and Liechtenstein? There will be four, and two of them I'm not changing, but I'm flexible on the others. But I can only do Switzerland or Liechtenstein and Romania or France, since those pairs are the ones in the parts of the chapter.**_

 _ **Also, I may have a few bonus chapters after the last chapter, but I kind of really just want to move onto another story. I'm finally getting over my writer's block on The Heirs' Curse, and I also have an original story I'm really excited about. So, don't really count on getting Wy and Korea or Taiwan's bonus chapters, but it might happen. Just gonna say, Wy's the reason it was implied Ludwig had transformed before the start of the story.**_

 _ **I just want to thank you all so much for reading this! It means a lot to me, how kind you all are and how much feedback I've gotten on this story. So thank you, and I hope to deliver you all even better content in the future!**_

...

 _A train pulled into a long dead station. Emil looked up, hoping perhaps someone would get off this time._

 _His breath caught in his throat as a flood of people exited the car and a smile spread across his lips. It'd been long enough._

 _Everyone settled around him, and he looked up to see a hand extended to him. Leon was smirking down at him._

 _"I told you," he muttered, and took Leon's hand, pulling him down beside him on the bench. "You could have saved yourself._

 _Leon shrugged. "Well, I saved you, and I'm here now."_

 _He didn't know what to say, it'd been far too long. He caught familiar faces in the crowd and beckoned them over. Mathias, Yong Soo, Mei, they'd all finally come. Yao, who he vaguely recognized from a few pictures, joined them as well, leaning on a sign that said nothing on it._

 _And just as he thought everything had settled down, someone tapped him on the shoulder, He jumped a bit as his eyes met those of an unfamiliar young man with blond hair and glasses._

 _"Um, do you mind if I sit with you?", he questioned._

 _Emil nodded. "Go right ahead."_

 _"Thank you," the man sat down, and promptly asked for his name._

 _"Emil, and you?"_

 _"I'm Matthew," he said with a weak smile. "Can you tell me where we are, maybe?"_

 _Around him, the features of the train station faded out, an expanse of red water taking its place. "We won't be here long," Iceland assured him as his face fell. "Now that everyone's passed on, we should come back quickly."_

 _Canada let out a sigh. "Alright. Can I still stay by you? I feel like I remember this, but-"_

 _"Go right ahead!", Hong Kong chirped. "You're one of England's, right?"_

 _"Um, I think so, yes. And you?"_

 _"Yeah, we were together for a while, but-"_

 _Iceland let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Even with all the noise, he was content. He was no longer alone, he was no longer stagnant. He'd see Norway again soon._


	69. Shadows and Light

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter 50a- Shadows and Light_

A sound like pounding waves rang in his ears. A man with tired eyes and stubble sat beside his bed. Vladimir had no idea what was going on.

Well, he had a bit of an idea. He remembered a crushing sorrow, a hopeless realization. His little brother was dead, he knew that much, and something in him suspected he should have followed him that way. But he could feel himself biting the inside of his cheek to assure himself he wasn't dreaming, he felt a dizzy bloodrush as he tried to sit up.

So instead, he looked over to that man, still blurry in his daze. "Ah, so the great revolutionary awakes from his slumber?", questioned the man in a mocking tone. "Well, at long last, I meet the shadow himself! Must say, it's quite the honor."

He couldn't even begin to fathom what it was the man was saying. "Great revolutionary", "shadow", did either of those things apply to him? Shadow, perhaps, but he was far from great at the whole revolution thing.

"What are you-?"

With a smirk, the man flipped open a book he was holding. "Things a bit fuzzy?", he questioned. "Well, I suppose Tino told me to expect as much. Perhaps this will jog your memory."

Clearing his throat, the man began to read out some passage from the book.

"I've always believed in fairy tales, in happy endings, in true love, in hope prevailing over despair. Call me a fool for it, but I always did, and even now, even with the blood on our hands, I still do.

"These words, I believe them too. France believed in this power, he believed that we could overcome anything and shine brightly with the bonds we forge.

"Those bonds are what give us strength, even now. It's not items that give us power, it's the meaning they hold. The people we would die for, the people who would die for us, the intensity of that love, it seems to have the potential to be unspeakably strong.

"My studies have showed that to be the case. I've been testing the strength of our 'team', keeping track of our maximum output. And these all support my believes. Tino's power has been decreasing slightly, likely from isolation to those he holds dear. Conversely, while it appeared Lukas would follow a similar pattern, as of late, he's been displaying greater shows of strength.

And so I arrive at a conclusion: he cares about me. He considers me a friend. Just knowing that someone like that could find strength in me, it fills me with more drive than I thought possible. This love is the key to saving everyone."

Upon concluding, the man looked up, as if expecting some great reaction. All Vladimir could muster was the chill running down his spine.

"That sounds really familiar," Vladimir muttered.

The blond man chuckled. "Well I would hope so, it was your writing!"

His head swimmed too much to quite make out what he was feeling, but yeah, that sounded about right. His memories contained similar events, and he knew he'd had a journal at some point, but this stranger had found it? Nor was supposed to make sure no one but SERAPH saw it.

Two logical conclusions: either this man was part of SERAPH or Nor hadn't been able to protect his words. He really, truly hoped it was the former.

And in his head were other memories, other entries, ones far more exposing, ones he wouldn't dare speak aloud. Ah, right, yes, that journal had only been intended for three sets of eyes: his own, Lukas's, and its proper owner's.

"Who gave that to you?", he asked the man, but as he spoke, he got a good eyeful of the man and started to suspect that perhaps him having the book wasn't a mistake.

France gave him a sideways grin. "Your friend, or, ah," He flipped through the later pages of the diary. "'Partner', 'Dearest', 'Test Subject', 'Beloved'," France snickered. "Oh my, this truly is confusing! I can tell why Lukas always hesitates to talk about you, this is a master class in mixed signals. This puts even Arthur to shame!"

So he was finally meeting the man he looked up to so much, the one who gave him so much of his ideology. And he was making fun of him. "It wasn't my fault!", he quickly defended. "Nor's the one who kept throwing me off. He'd call me his coworker or friend or whatever one minute and be all over me the next, what do you call that?"

"I've been searching for that word for a very long time," France remarked. "Trust me, it would have come in handy for one of your successors. England, you never knew him, correct?"

"No, don't think so." Vladimir took a minute to assess his idol, but all he could note were features that didn't really match up with his mental figure. Unkempt, like he hadn't slept or looked in a mirror in days, he hardly looked like the composed sage he'd pictured. Really, he looked more like he'd stumbled off a battlefield.

But judging by the cuts and bruises on his neck and arms, that probably wasn't far off.

"What happened, anyways?", he questioned. "Something did, right? I mean, I kind of remember getting killed, so why am I alive?"

France shook his head. "That's a good question, really. I had been under the impression you were long gone, we all were. Where were you all that time, while I had to play leader in your place?"

"I was…" Everything ran together. Sleepless nights, dull lights, vats of chemicals, corpses. Subject A, the girl who weakly struggled and failed to be subdued, Subject B, the boy he half recognized but mostly as an innocent dragged into everything, Subject C, the one that almost made him break down because he knew his death was what had initially broken Lukas. He didn't want to remember, he tried to stuff it all back, but no, it had all been pointless. The only thing keeping him going was the thought his little brother would be safe, his team would be safe, his cause would be safe, but no one was ever safe and how could he be so stupid as to think otherwise.

A hand closed around his wrist, France gave him a weak smile. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."

Once, he would have spilled out every last detail just because the phantom he'd looked up to commanded it. But suddenly, he remembered where those ideals had gone; same place as a few years of his life. What he'd written was still true. In his eyes, were happy endings, there was true love, those things were incredibly powerful. Those things didn't believe in him back, though.

But there was something of a happy ending, or at least a miracle. "How did I survive?", he asked. "I died, right?"

"You could say that," France muttered. "But I'd not phrase it so direly. You were, well, Gilbert said it was something akin to zombification but I'd say it's closer to being a puppet than a zombie. And you managed to be brought back from that with some healing magic I won't even pretend to understand."

More memories flooded back. Slicing into things without control, not thinking about where the blade went, only a realization that he'd subjected countless to the same fate. It quickly became hard to see.

The hand around his wrist tightened. "Everything's fine," France assured him, but his voice broke as he said it. "It's over now, everything's over."

"But, is it alright if I apologize?", France added. "For not living up to your expectations? I was hardly any sort of leader, no matter how I tried. Nothing compared to how you saw me, and certainly nothing compared to you."

Before Vladimir even realized he was doing it. He'd started sobbing into a pillow. He wanted to tell France to stop, to stop making him, the one who had let so many die and trapped countless others in that nightmare, sound like any sort of hero.

A voice behind him made him stop before he could even try to get any of that out through the tears. "Francis, what did you do?", a voice questioned indignantly.

"Should we come back later?", another, more familiar one added.

Through the tears, Vladimir forced himself to look towards the voices, to the three people standing on his other side.

Lukas, Tino, and a man with thick eyebrows he didn't recognize were right beside him.

And through the tears, he found himself smiling and springing up to tackle Lukas in a hug. And despite the black spots the sudden motion left dancing in front of his eyes, he knew he hadn't been that happy in a very long time. SERAPH, his friends, his ideals, at very least they had made it through the end. And so had he.

* * *

As Feliks walked into the room, Toris tried to go over everything he meant to say in his mind. So long in that bed had given him plenty of time to figure it out, but he found himself unable to even start. And his friend just stood there expectantly, as if willing him to speak first.

The one time he actually wanted Feliks to talk and he wouldn't. Well, he supposed he had to come up with something, so he simply cut to the chase.

"Alfred told me what you did."

Feliks's face went pale, but he kept up his normal cheerful tone. "Did he now?"

It had seemed unbelievable from Alfred's mouth, every bit he could drag up about what had happened in between tears over a brother who had apparently fallen in the battle. But all that blatant panic all over his friend's face confirmed it plenty. "So it's true that you betrayed everyone and then ended up throwing yourself into a place you knew was dangerous-"

"Well, to be fair, I was helping Heracles-", Feliks corrected, without even an attempt to deny his actions.

"Let me finish," Toris requested softly, and the words vanished from the air. Wow, that was kind of working. He cut to the thing he was most curious about, the one he most couldn't believe but at the same time thought had to be true. "And you were the one to undo that poison, to save everyone?"

He nodded, a continued lack of any pride for even the heroic actions. "Well, me and Matthew, and Ivan helped too at the end."

Matthew, the one who had died. Was that what had sapped Feliks's bravado?

Regardless, Toris managed a weak smile. "Thank you. I- I'm grateful for that. Being half alive like that was," Memories he'd been trying desperately to push back drifted to the surface. Half-aware, pushed forward, unable to think of anything but an underlying scream begging it to stop. "Well, terrifying, to put it lightly."

"I'm glad I could save you," Feliks muttered, quickly adding "Alfred didn't tell you anything else, did he?"

And now for what he'd been dreading. Deep breaths, he could have this conversation, he needed to know how much of what he heard was true and how much was skewed. "He told me a lot of things, actually."

That pale, panicked expression returned. "Oh…"

"Al said you did everything for me?"

Sudden relief and a barely audible sigh, and Feliks's smile returned. "Well, of course!"

No, no, that wasn't what he'd meant. Of course he influenced his friend's actions, but those actions, the ones he'd been told about, surely he couldn't be the only factor behind them. So he pressed further. "For only me?"

Feliks gave a dismissive hand-wave. "Pretty much."

"You betrayed your friends for my sake alone?"

"Um…" He was pretty sure he could hear a gulp. Feliks didn't deny it though, at very least. "Well, I wouldn't call them my friends, but yes."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you just let me die": The question that'd been in his head ever since he awoke. Well, really, since Romania talked to him, since he found Eduard's Catalyst.

Judging by his friend's raised eyebrow and frown, Feliks really didn't get where he was coming from.

So he clarified. "You were compromising the lives of people who trusted you for one person you could have figured out was close to dead anyways,"

Feliks winced at the acquisition, but shook his head. "I'm not worth more than all of them, Feliks!", Toris exclaimed.

"Stop," stated Feliks with more directness than he could imagine coming from him, and launched into what sounded like some carefully rehearsed monologue. "You are worth every last person on this planet. You are worth every cell in my body. I hated myself for so long for not making that clear to you, and now, I refuse to let you talk like that."

He tried to justify his own words quickly. "I'm not trying to be down on myself, I'm just saying, that wasn't-"

"It was the right thing to do!", Feliks interrupted. "It was the only thing to do! After I'd just gotten you back? I don't care if you never loved me, I'd still tear this world apart for you!"

Lovely, it was his turn to be hopelessly lost here. Feliks used to be very good at causing that reaction in him, and normally he'd be more than happy to feel it again, but truly? Is that what he thought? "What do you mean, 'I never loved you'? You're my dearest friend, of course I love you. How could you even think that I don't care for you?"

"I know you care for me," Feliks assured him. "But not like… well, Eduard told me, no need to explain yourself. It's totally fine if you don't feel the same way I do. Even if you hate me, which I could totally understand, I'll still love you."

The soliloquy continued, and Toris just wanted to shake his head in exasperation, but it kind of hurt his neck at this point. Yes, Feliks loved him, in a way that would be plainly silly to call platonic. He'd known that since grade school, there was no need to spell it out, and yet he went on.

"Toris, my relationship with you, and you yourself, there's nothing more precious to me. If it's selfish to protect that, after I blamed myself for so long for losing you, then so be it. I'll forsake any morals or logic to make up for that."

"You blamed yourself- wait, what did you say?" A bout of laughter derailed his train of thought. This was melodramatic, to say the least. Like, even for Feliks, who had been known to declare the world a cruel place for dropping food, this was incredibly melodramatic. But that word choice, even. "Forsake? Did you… rehearse this?"

Feliks turned a blazing red and made a desperate yet futile attempt to hide his face. "Maybe." He held on an awkward silence for a moment too long. "Okay, yes, sorry, I just wanted to get it right, asked Toni and Liz for help, that was a mistake."

Any worries he had for his friend's mental state vanished with a few more chuckles. Things had gone to hell, but Feliks was just the same as ever. "You really didn't have to, but that's beside the point. You said you blamed yourself? For what?"

"You disappearing like that!", he exclaimed, and it sounded like a cry of protest, a request for this conversation to be taken seriously. "If it'd been your choice, then it'd be my fault for not being there for you more, for making sure you were alright! And even with the truth out there, I still feel like it was, at least a little, my fault. If I could have protected you back then, if we could have run away together- heck, if I'd been able to track you down or stop you when this all started-"

A choking, sobbing sound. Feliks was trembling a bit, his eyes were flooding and spilling over.

So that was what he'd left behind. He'd always wondered, what people had thought happened, and he'd truly hoped that wasn't what he made people think happened. And Feliks, he was the last person he wanted to take the blame, for anything that did or didn't happen. "That's… none of what happened is your fault!"

Wiping his eyes, Feliks shook his head. "Toris, you don't have to say anything about it. I shouldn't be trying to make this all about me. All I wanted to say is that I'm sorry, I love you, and I want to make it up to you however I can. I, um…" He glanced around the room for a moment before making a lunge for the empty glass beside his bed. "You need anything? More water?"

"No… But-"

Before he could stop him, Feliks was already halfway out the door. "Okay, I- I'll check up on you later, alright?"

He closed the door behind him softly, leaving Toris grasping at meaningless words. There was a lot he wanted to say to Feliks, with no idea how to put them into words in the wake of the moment.

Well, there was one where the words came pretty easily: "I never said I didn't love you."

* * *

 _ **AN- These ended up being a bit longer than I expected, and combined with the terrible writer's block that made me worry I'd never be able to finish these, I decided to split the four part into two. But it works better this way, so the individual stories can mean more rather than being all squished in together. Expect the other two- Switzerland and Japan- soon-ish. Not making any promises, but I'll do my best. On the bright side, I drafted a few lines of a Wy-centric bonus chapter in desperation to get some creative juices flowing, so that might actually happen now! Maybe. Don't count on anything, I'm still a little on the writer's block side. But anyways, thank you so much for reading! -Twilight Joltik**_


	70. Knight and Mourning

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter 50b- Knight and Mourning_

"Brother!"

Erika called through the door softly, almost too soft to be heard, and Basch felt like he could smile a bit. She stumbled through the doorway, trying to balance a tray, but she was grinning brightly.

"Sorry the food's not too good, but you probably shouldn't eat much yet, so at very least you won't be too tempted!" The apology sounded like a joke. It just made him feel worse.

His sister seemed so different from what he remembered. Yes, she'd grown, but it was much more than that. Something about her seemed battered, on edge, and she still wouldn't talk about why she'd replaced that blue ribbon he gave her with one striped with black and white.

Either way, he thanked her and reached forward to grab the tray from her. It was some sort of stew, unappetizing to say the least, and it looked like the sort of stuff they'd serve as rations back then, in the time he refused to name any longer. It was over, there was no reason to name it.

"Is there anything else you need, big brother?", she asked, and he tried to think of something.

He needed a year of his life back.

He needed to make it up to her for leaving her alone.

He needed to get back all the energy he'd spent, all the grief he'd felt over her death when she'd been more alive than himself all along.

"Tell me, what do you need, sister?", he asked, because he needed to do something other than wallow in his own hatred and let go of the could-have-beens.

She hesitated, as if mulling it over, before shaking her head. "I need you to get your strength back. Please, rest if you can, and if you need anything at all-"

"No, what do you need?", he asked once more, stressing each syllable. "Please, sister, you've suffered as much as I. Is there anything I could do for you?"

Erika flinched a bit before sighing. "Could I… tell you a story?"

"Of course," he assured her, with no clue what she meant or where she was going. "I would love to hear it."

Sitting down in that chair that he'd seen no one but her in despite a few people he barely recognized popping in and out, she leaned forward on her hands and closed her eyes. If it wasn't for that, he'd swear she was reading the story she told, it was so put together.

"Once, there was a princess who lost her kingdom. She was all alone in the cold, in the alleys of the city, until a noble knight found her and took her in. He became the big brother she always wanted. He protected her, gave her all the happiness she ever dreamed of, gave her the prettiest ribbon from the shop that she wore proudly.

"But the knight soon learned he had a terrible secret: he was possessed by a demon, told by a green rabbit. Other knights learned of this, and he was called off to war, leaving the princess behind. But, the princess too learned she was possessed by a demon as well, and she cursed the green rabbit for taking her brother away as she ran, holding onto nothing of her happiness but the blue ribbon and the faint hope she would someday see her brother again

"This demon gave her immense power, but she avoided using it at all costs. She feared it would take her over, erase her own self. But she was against the law, she had to fight sometimes. Against other knights, who were kind despite fighting her. They, possessed as she was, didn't want to be there any more than her or her brother, and they helped her in the small ways they could.

"And so she kept running until one day, she met the green rabbit again. She was filled with rage, wanting to curse him as he'd cursed her, wanting to hurt him as he'd hurt her. But as much as she struggled, nothing did a thing. The princess chased after the rabbit, and she saw him approaching four young knights, not much older than herself.

"She tried to warn the four knights, but they protected the rabbit, and she was convinced it was too late. But the rabbit, he called out to her. Told her that he meant her no harm, that he knew he'd made a mistake. Her hatred fell away, the princess decided to listen to the rabbit.

"The rabbit told her that he'd once been a prince, but his kingdom too had been destroyed, and he was taken in by a kind family. But this family had been possessed, like her, like her brother, and one by one, they all had fallen, the rabbit unable to do anything, and he fell under a curse as one of his fathers was called off for service as a knight. But he kept trying to make amends, kept trying to save people from their inner demons, kept trying to bring everyone back together.

"All at once, the princess began to feel remorse. She had called the rabbit evil, and yet he was more noble than herself. He offered her the chance to help the knights he had brought and bring her brother home in the process, and she gladly took it, but still, she was selfish. She did it not for any of the knights she was helping, but for herself and her brother.

"When they arrived at the fort her brother was in, she abandoned the other knights at the first chance, and quickly found her brother. But he called her an illusion, said she'd died moons ago. The princess didn't understand, but she had no time to, as another knight came and took him away, trying to do the same to her. The rabbit, though, jumped out in front of her and saved her from the knight.

"And the rabbit was bathed in light and changed form into a young prince, and the two ran, but they only managed to escape with two of their friends. The other two were lost in the fortress, doomed to suffer as her brother was. The princess was too scared to go back, though, and instead, she tried to fight with the others to save their friends as a voice in the back of her head screamed for her to forget them, to find her brother.

"But somehow, she was brave. She wanted to help her new friends, too. But all the while, the demon inside of her grew stronger, hungrier. She had to use it more to help them, and it scared her, and it kept scaring her until they saved one of their friends. But, the demon inside of him had taken him over, there was hardly anything of his original self left. The princess had never been so terrified.

"In a fit of terror, the princess burned the precious ribbon her brother gave her and swore never to unleash the demon again. Even if she had to give up on ever seeing her brother again, she would never allow herself to be lost to the demon But much to her surprise, as she did this, the demon-possessed knight started to cry, as did the prince.

"Shortly, her friends learned of a great evil and decided to leave to fight it, but the princess stayed behind, as backup, but she knew she would never fight. Even then, as the prince rushed out of the fort, telling them all was lost and they needed as much help as they could get, she couldn't help but go. And when the prince was knocked unconscious, she borrowed his hat, the one with the striped ribbon, and took up her blade once more.

"The princess, as she helped save the world, understood something. Even if she and the demon were separate minds, they were linked in a way she could never undo. Someday, she would lose herself to the demon, but that was okay. She would rather do what was right than save herself. And after the battle, the princess managed to find her brother, barely alive but still breathing. She vowed she would protect him until the end of time, no matter how much of herself she'd lose in the process."

Finally, Erika opened her eyes and looked up, a crooked smile forming. "Did you like it, brother?"

"Not really, no," Basch mused. "I liked the princess very much, she was a brave and noble character, but it's a shame she had to suffer so much."

She giggled. "It is, but that's how the story goes."

"And I didn't like the ending," Basch added.

"Really?", Erika questioned. "How would you have rather it gone?"

He tried to think of something half as poetic as hers. "How about this: the princess and her brother, finally reunited, bury their weapons, swearing to never again let the demons control them. They would always be there, but so would their hearts, bright enough to blot out the darkness without a blade."

"I like that a lot better," Erika exclaimed, reaching up to undo the striped bow. It fell into her hand, and she slid it into her pocket. "Can the brother, once he's better, buy the princess a new blue ribbon? Black and white doesn't suit her as much, despite it being a gift from the prince."

"Of course. That sounds like a lovely ending."

* * *

The pounding of water against his ears. Arrows of warmth piercing his body.

A soft hum wafted through the air as the sleep cleared from his eyes. The ceiling, the feeling of the sheets, they were all unfamiliar, but he recognized the lingering scent of chemicals.

And then all at once, it came crashing back. He had died. Kiku Honda had died, he remembered that perfectly well.

His eyes flitted across the ceiling. How was he alive? He'd made his peace with his fate. He'd felt the murder weapon enter his flesh. He'd felt himself slipping away.

Perhaps this was a miracle. Perhaps this was an accident. Perhaps heaven was a bit more concrete than he'd imagined.

Or, perhaps he was just fine. Somehow.

Something, a shadow moved across the edge of his vision. It hurt to turn.

"You- you're awake!", Ludwig exclaimed, sounding as amazed by the fact as Kiku himself. And a small smile flickered across his friend's face, something that made his heart swell.

He could do little more than stutter out an "I… I…"

Ludwig looked almost embarrassed, but his sigh didn't fit that at all. "It's alright. I- sorry, I'll leave you be."

As he started out the door, Kiku already felt something creeping up on him. Walls of chalk marks flickered around him, a chill ran down his spine. "No, please," he called. "I just, am I... still alive?"

Turning around, Ludwig looked more confused than anything. "Yes," he assured him. "Honestly, it amazes me too. We were so sure we lost you."

"I… thought you did too." And he hated himself for that. Ludwig had lost enough, hadn't he?

"Do you need anything?", questioned Ludwig.

Though he probably meant if he needed food or an ice pack or something, Kiku refused to answer it like that. For being nearly dead and then some, he felt fine. He needed answers, not help. "I need to find someone," said, trying to push himself up from the bed. "I need to know what happened."

"No, you need to stay here!", protested Ludwig. "I'll tell you all I can, but-"

He'd already managed to stand up, shakily but with much less difficulty than he'd expected, by the time he'd reached his argument, which slowly faded away as he stumbled to the door. With something of a defeated glare, Ludwig opened the door for him.

He wasn't entirely sure where he expected to have been, but something about the hall beyond the doorway surprised him. "Where is this?", he softly asked as he scanned the area. It seemed too… warm, too comfortable. This place has carpets and plaster walls rather than the harsh metal he'd started to grow accustomed to. If it wasn't for the harsh scent of some sort of cleaning fluid in the air, he'd think it more likely to be a school than some sort of a hospital.

"It's a bit odd, isn't it?", Ludwig remarked. "Apparently it's one of the older bases. Lukas said there were medical supplies here, and while I can't say he was wrong, I also can't say they helped much."

"They… didn't?" Glancing back over his shoulder, into the room, he realized there wasn't much in the way of anything, let alone medical supplies. An IV bag, but even then, it didn't appear to have anything in it. "What did it, then?"

Was he asking the wrong questions? Ludwig just kept looking confused with everything he asked. "Did what?", he questioned, and Kiku half wanted to just tell him to forget it, go back in the room. The answer would never be what he was looking for.

But he needed an answer. "Kept me alive," he clarified.

With that, Kiku realized he'd been misreading the situation. He wasn't being confusing, Ludwig just didn't know how to answer. At least, that was what the distant stare made it look like. "Well…", he started, trying to focus back on him.

Before he could say anything more, though, a familiar and bright cry interrupted him. "K-Kiku!"

He turned at the sound of his name, certain he'd heard something wrong. But no, his friend was unmistakable, far more vibrant than he had been last time he'd seen him. "Feliciano, you're alive, you're-"

Feliciano started frowning. "No. I'm not- Feliciano isn't."

"What?" What was that supposed to mean, he was standing right there!

He shook his head. "Feliciano isn't alive. I'm not him."

"Who are you, then?", Kiku inquired, unsure whether to be upset that whoever this was dare take his form or impressed that he was such a flawless copy. "Why are you taking his form?"

They flinched a bit at those words, and Ludwig cast him an odd glare. "No, no, I mean, I'm still the same person!", they assured him. "I think. Well, it's complicated, but I'm still your friend, I'm still… 'Feliciano', but I just, well,"

Feliciano, or whoever he was, looked near tears, but took a deep breath and looked away from him. "In that machine, everything in my head melted away until all that was left were vague fragments and my old life, my life as Italy. I don't know what that makes me, but it sure isn't Feliciano."

That suspicion turned to guilt. He'd just accused his best friend of being an imposter. "I- I'm sorry!", he exclaimed. "I- I didn't mean it like that! You just, I, I'm sorry, I'd thought you'd died!"

Turning back to him, Feliciano- no, Italy? He waved his hands around as if dismissing the subject. "No, don't be! Everything's fine! I- we'll figure it out, okay?"

It stung, it felt like a needle piercing his skin. "I'm sorry I couldn't have helped you, though," he apologized. "I tried, I really did but…" So many words to describe his errors. "I was foolish. Brash. Reckless."

"Please, Kiku," Italy all but sighed. "I just want to move past this. You did all you could."

He sounded so tired, so sick of everything, and Kiku couldn't say he was unfamiliar with the feeling. The walls crept back up, he let out a shudder. "Alright, Fe- Italy, but please, if nothing else, can you tell me what happened? Last I remember, I was being-"

"-attacked in a room with Vasch and two other people who were strapped to tables."

Italy effortlessly finished his words, like it'd been rehearsed, like he'd said it a thousand times. Why did he know that? How did he know that? "Did you find me there, then?", he asked; the only explanation he could come up with.

Ludwig shook his head. "No. We found you trying to kill us."

His blood felt cold all of a sudden. Why did that sound halfway familiar? Ludwig went on; "your body was turned into a puppet-"

"Zombie," a voice amended. He whipped around to see Gilbert approaching them. "You aren't impressing anyone by avoiding the word."

As they locked eyes, Gilbert smiled, but it seemed fake, forced. He looked thoroughly exhausted, like he'd not slept since he'd attacked him what felt like ages ago.

"Gilbert!", exclaimed Kiku. "I, are you-"

"Hey, Keeks," he said, cutting him off like he was avoiding something. "Nice to see you're up. No hard feelings about me almost sorta trying to kill you, right?"

His mind drifted back. Antonio. Arthur. He'd gotten hit with a pillow and screwed up in more ways than he could say, even if he was told he did fine. "...of course not," Because he could never resent Gilbert for hating him for that, it was cruel and made him wish he would have let the knife turn in his own back instead. Why hadn't he died when Arthur confronted him? Or at least in the cell, in the suffocating stench of death and dust.

No one would answer him, though. Not Ludwig, not Italy, but what about now? "Can you please give me a straight answer: how am I alive?"

And he did get one this time, a single word from Ludwig that didn't clear up anything: "Feliks."

"Who?" The name sounded familiar, the face wouldn't come.

Several answers were provided all at once, tripping over each other: "My old boss", "Poland", "the guy who was with me, 'member, in the cape"- apparently those together worked well enough for a mental image to form.

Still failed to answer the question. "How?"

"Some sort of healing fire," explained Ludwig with a shrug. "Him and Matthew and Ivan- er, Russia, their powers together were enough to reverse whatever they'd done to you."

That didn't sound like an answer. That sounded like a theory. "So you're not entirely sure?"

Italy made an uncertain noise, a sort of "eh". "Not anymore," he admitted. "I mean I felt like I knew what was going on in the moment, but now that it's over? No clue."

Gilbert huffed, but it seemed more in jest than true annoyance on his behalf. "Aw, come on! You explained it to me way better, all 'banishing toxins' and stuff? What happened to that explanation?"

Ludwig's answer was a deadpan- well, it wasn't a joke, but if perhaps the timing had been a bit better, he might have laughed. "We had to give it thirty times."

"Yeah, it stopped making sense when that Vladimir guy started asking how the heck it destabilized molecular compounds or something like that," Italy added.

"...alright, then." Kiku sighed, feeling defeated. "Can I speak to them?"

"To whom?", questioned Ludwig.

"Feliks, right? And Matthew and Russia. I'd like to thank them for saving me."

"Well, no," countered Ludwig. "Feliks went home yesterday, and honestly, I have no idea where Ivan got off to."

"Ah, that's a shame." Another pathway had shut down, and he couldn't thank or question them, at least not quite yet. "What about Matthew, is he-"

Another blunt, one-word answer: "Dead."

"Oh…" The words sounded cold. He was sure they'd been there, from the way Italy glanced away and Gilbert closed his eyes for a moment. "That's a shame, he seemed very nice."

"He was," Gilbert almost bitterly replied. It made sense, they'd known each other, worked together, but it sounded almost too harsh, like perhaps that wasn't quite all there was to the story.

The story, the story still made no sense. Ludwig wasn't the type to dance around the issue, Feliciano hadn't been the type to withhold anything, and he imagined Italy was no different. So why was he still so lost?

And then it hit him. There had been a fight. Probably a few, given they had to have saved Italy somehow. Matthew couldn't have been the only casualty, not if everyone was acting so strange about it.

"Who else?"

Italy raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Who else did we lose?", Kiku pressed, trying to glare into them like Ludwig might do. He felt foolish doing it, an ant staring down a grasshopper. But he had to try, had to rally whatever annoyance had been boiling inside him.

The rest of the question came out more of a shout than he'd ever thought himself capable of. "Ever since I woke up, you've been dancing around everything? So what happened, what are you not telling me?"

All three of them looked plainly startled by the action, but it was Gilbert who spoke up. "Yao."

It became oddly cold, suddenly, and the word no longer made sense. He repeated it, trying to find some meaning. "Y-Yao?"

A hand, Ludwig's, grabbed his shoulder. He'd never seen Lud look so terrified, but he took a breath and tried to explain.

"When we were saving Italy, I got pinned down by Russia. He was about to kill me, I was certain I would die right in front of my brother and-" He paused, gulped something back. "Well, Yao, he saved me. Pushed him aside, but he got caught up in the crossfire. Ivan swears it was an accident, but everything hit him at once and-"

Slowly, Kiku nodded. It sounded right. Yao would do something like that, would save someone. But, any relief an answer could bring was drowned quickly. It was his fault, Yao never would have sacrificed himself for Ludwig had it not been him trying to protect his friend.

So he had to ask, had to see what had become of his brother. "Where is he?"

Italy frowned and grabbed his hand, Ludwig awkwardly pulling away as he did so. "Kiku, I know this is hard to hear, trust me, I do, but-"

"No, I mean, where is his body?", he quickly clarified, drawing his hand back

His face fell, Italy hesitated before starting to say something "We-"

"We couldn't recover it," Ludwig finished. "There wasn't enough to bury."

There were lies somewhere in that, but Kiku didn't want to think about that. He just wanted to pretend he could trust someone's word, just for a while longer. "Please, is there something? Something of his, even? I just need to see this, see something."

Gilbert gave him a crooked sort of grin. "You think seeing him'll help you process it?"

He nodded. "I do." Just seeing it, just letting it hit him that this was a thing that truly happened, maybe that would stop his head from spinning, silence that voice that told him this wasn't true, wasn't true, the walls springing up once more.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing but ashes left of him," Ludwig practically shouted, as if to get it through the veil around his thoughts. It helped, at least, and he grew colder with every passing word. "No possessions to speak of, save for a bracelet he'd borrowed from Toris- from Lithuania, but that's back in his possession."

Everyone around him seemed to vanish. It hit him again and again. Yao was gone. His brother was gone. It was his fault, his brother would never laugh, never tell him he'd done well, never forgive him. "I… I should have died," he muttered.

Was he imagining it, or did Italy start breathing oddly? Shallowly, quickly, as if hyperventilating. "Kiku…", he muttered. "Don't-"

"Why didn't you let me die?", Kiku exclaimed. "I'm supposed to be dead, I'm supposed to be with Yao, with everyone else, right?"

Tears started running down his cheek as Ludwig turned to him and started to reach towards him once more before drawing his hand back, as if thinking better of it. "Stop. Don't start this again."

"Again?" He was half enraged, half confused by this specification.

A sigh, Ludwig made a noise that sounded almost like a chuckle. "Well, not again for you, again for all of us. Since Italy woke up, I've..." He paused, like he was going to brush it off, but took a breath and went on. "I've been asking myself things like that over and over. Why couldn't it have been me, how could I have done things differently, why couldn't I have been better?"

Gilbert chimed in with a raw "you didn't-", but Ludwig cut him off.

"Let me finish, Gilbert. I've asked myself so many things, but not one of them changes the fact that this is how it turned out, this is what happened, this is the life we move forward from."

"You think we can move forward?", Kiku asked. It seemed impossible, to walk away from the looming thoughts, the mental image of a thousand attacks reducing his brother to nothing more than blood and ash, the walls...

But Ludwig finally grabbed him once more, the side of his arm, and gave a smile he could barely see. "I know we can."

Kiku found himself smiling as well through the tears falling down his cheeks. Maybe things could move forward. Perhaps, but not now, everything still rang in his mind, his chest burned and he wanted to scream still.

After a moment, Italy softly added "whenever you feel up to it, there's someone who'd like to see you."

"Heracles?", Kiku questioned.

Italy nodded. "Don't feel like you've gotta talk to anyone until you're ready. I know everything is hard, trust me, I know, but-"

"No, I want to talk to him." Unspoken was the reason, that he wanted to think about anything but the fact that he'd never see his big brother smile again.

"Alright." Ludwig moved his hand down his arm, grabbing him gingerly by the hand. He led him a few doors down, towards one that was halfway ajar.

Pushing it open, Ludwig let go of his hand, and as Kiku stumbled forward, his eyes fell upon a familiar face.

Heracles looked tired, but what was new there. Still, he smiled warmly and took a few steps towards him. "Oh! Kiku, you're-"

The second his eyes flicked across his face, Heracles's smile melted away. "God… I'm so sorry about all that happened, I'm so sorry about Yao, I-"

"Can I hug you?", Kiku asked, his voice sounding small, weak, helpless.

And he felt so lost when he started sobbing into Heracles's chest. Being so close felt alien, but he needed to feel something, anything at all.

Heracles kept muttering soft assurances, but Kiku desperately tried not to listen. He wanted that panicked lost feeling he'd given him for so long. He wanted to be scared of his own feelings, not of the future, not of being alone.

"I love you," he half sobbed, unsure if Heracles could hear it.

"I know, I love you too," Heracles assured him. "And I'll always be there for you, alright? I'm not going anywhere."

It didn't help. He felt something, some shapeless warmth, but it was drowned out by that overbearing emptiness.

But at least he felt something. He felt like he wanted to stay like this forever, in this pocket of confusion where he could just feel all the somethings that made him want to scream.

* * *

 _ **AN- Well, this was a long-ass time coming. But look, writer's block happens, and I'm sorry, but I like how it turned out in the end. Switzy's was fun to write, I like changing my style up sometimes. Well, no promises on the last chapter's timeframe, but it will be written! Thank you all so much for your patience! -Twilight Joltik**_


	71. End- Silver Lining

_Magitalia_

 _Chapter Final- Silver Lining_

Being back at school was incredibly strange. For one, Veneziano wasn't entirely certain he even remembered ever going to one, and he didn't remember anything they'd been doing or learning. If he had a choice, to be quite honest, he wouldn't have gone, but Romano insisted that he try to finish high school while they waited to find a trace of Seborga being reborn.

And for another thing, he quickly recognized a girl in their history class as Belgium and Ludwig didn't seem to notice at all. Like, he asked him who she was, and instead of something like "oh, that's Belgium, she helped us fight one time", he just said something like "That's Emma, you two dated for a week but she still considers you a friend, so don't worry if she tries to talk to you".

She did try to talk to him. Just asking him simple questions, like "Oh, where were you?" and "Did you get contacts or something? Your eyes look weird." He hadn't actually noticed his eyes looked weird, but in between classes he ducked into the restroom and found small slivers of red in them he was astonished he'd missed.

Either way, the girl looked, sounded, and even rather acted like Belgium, but there wasn't really any indication she was, so he decided to drop it and worry a bit more about his eyes. Had they been affected while he was using his powers to find a solution to the whole "trapped with a bunch of zombies" problem? Or had they been like that since the machine?

Vaguely, he remembered seeing Iceland in the station, his eyes pinwheels of red and violet. Did that just happen to humans who used their powers like that? It wasn't really a problem, per say, just something that unnerved him just the slightest bit on top of everything that had happened in the past however-long-it-had-been of his life.

At lunch, he debated bringing it up to the others, but as soon as he laid eyes on Kiku, he changed his mind. Kiku had been back at school longer than himself, but somehow he looked even worse off. He was completely unfocused, had practically buried himself in the oversized jacket he was wearing, and didn't even acknowledge Heracles when he came over to join them.

Kiku really did have it the worst of any of them. He'd had to attempt to explain everything to his parents, tell them their elder son was dead and gone and had been killed in an utterly pointless display of bloodshed for a cause no one believed in. Veneziano really didn't want to ask how that had gone.

And Heracles looked unfocused as well. Veneziano couldn't say he knew the guy well, but the way he was picking at his food seemed more mournful than thoughtful.

Ludwig seemed to be the most relaxed of any of them, in an astonishing turn of events. Despite him barely speaking, he didn't look like he was ready to burst into tears at any moment or like he wanted to curl up into a ball for the next several days. Far from upbeat, even by Ludwig's standards, but still definitely more put together than any of them.

Despite not being able to tell how he might look to the others, Veneziano definitely felt like he probably was closer in disposition to Kiku than Ludwig. Everything about the school felt wrong, like a place he'd visited once in a dream that wasn't supposed to exist in reality. And he- or at least this him, didn't belong there in the slightest. He just wanted to go home, really.

But Romano wasn't home, and as lovely as just laying in silence on his bed for hours sounded, he truly didn't want to be alone. He needed someone there, something to get his mind off of things, someone to just hold his hand and assure him that he belonged in the place he was, that he had the right to be in this body.

Without thinking, he reached his hand out, as if begging someone to grab it. Ludwig took it and began to rub circles with his thumb. God, he was glad Ludwig didn't hate him. He was glad his own selfishness wasn't hurting his dearest friend. He was glad that when Ludwig was feeling those feelings he knew too well, Feliciano could tell him he was right to kill the alien, right to not take the bait and let the cycle restart because there was no way that was an honest offer.

"Everything's fine, Italy," Ludwig muttered under his breath. "We're here."

Kiku's head suddenly shot up like a cork. "Oh, Italy… I'm sorry, are you doing alright?", he questioned.

He nodded without thinking. "Yeah, I'm fine…"

Desperately, he searched for another conversation topic; Kiku looked so guilty without cause and it was awful. "Ah, about that Emma girl in History class… Are you positive she isn't a Nation? 'Cause she looks a lot like Belgium."

"Emma… Emma Maes, you mean?", Heracles suddenly asked. "I think I saw a file on her and her older brother, actually."

"She has a brother?" The image of Netherlands shot into Veneziano's mind. "Uh, does he like, sorta have spiky hair and wear a scarf all the time?"

Heracles shrugged. "I've never met him, actually."

But Ludwig piped up. "Yes, actually. That sounds about right."

"And does she have a little brother too?", Veneziano continued. "Um, blond, kinda high-class acting?"

Ludwig nodded. "Yes. His name is Louis. I believe F- er, you once told me about him."

So they had candidates for a Luxembourg and a Netherlands? He wasn't sure whether to be excited or terrified.

"A-anyone else?", he asked.

After a few moments too many of staring off into space, Heracles nodded. "Well, I don't know if Emma has any other siblings, but there is another girl at this school I think might have powers like ours."

He looked around for a moment before pointing to a rather pretty, dark-haired girl with pigtails tied with red scrunchies. "That's Michelle LeGrande. They suspected she was-"

"Seychelles!", Veneziano exclaimed before he could finish. She looked exactly like that girl he'd met a few times.

Heracles nodded in agreement. "They sent me after her," he explained far too calmly. "I couldn't confirm anything, though."

"She has to be, she's a dead ringer for her!"

From nowhere, another, much higher pitched voice joined the conversation. "Yeah, Alfred mentioned someone named Michelle, and Francis said he babysat her when she was little, so it wouldn't surprise me!"

Frantically looking around, Veneziano's eyes settled on a green rabbit. That was Sealand's other form, right?

"How long have you been there?", Kiku asked idly, as if he'd been engaged in the conversation all along. Maybe he had been, he really wasn't sure.

Sealand shrugged as he descended down to eye-level. "Long enough. Sorry, I was just making sure everything was going alright with everyone. So, the names were Emma and Louis Maes, right? And Michelle LaGrande?"

"Also Tim Maes," Ludwig added. "Why, are you planning on paying them a visit?"

Another shrug. Veneziano wasn't sure how a rabbit fairy thing could shrug. "Perhaps. I mean, I have something in mind, but I'm not sure what to say to them right now. I guess I'll just keep an eye on them, for the time being."

"You have something in mind?", Kiku pressed, sounding rather apprehensive. "What?"

A few sheepish chuckles came from Sealand. "Well… ah, Arthur told me not to tell any of you yet, but I would feel bad not at this point. But, um, keep an open mind, alright?"

Veneziano already didn't like where this was heading.

"Well, you see, even if one threat is gone, others may very well arise," Sealand started. "And, um, actually, we were sort of planning to form something of an organization to make sure nothing so awful happens again."

Yeah, he really didn't like where this was headed.

"An organization? Yes, because that worked very well the last time, didn't it?", Ludwig snipped. Sealand jumped a bit at the sudden harsh tone, but said nothing.

"Do you mean like SERAPH?", Kiku asked. "Or closer to the enemy's construct?"

Sealand gave an awkward laugh. "Well, it was Arthur and Francis and Lukas who suggested it, so I assume closer to SERAPH, but..."

He paused before dashing in closer to Kiku. "Actually, Ivan told me something quite interesting. He initially thought the organization he joined was one meant to protect the world through the Nations. And that gave me a bit of an idea, you know?"

Kiku nodded. "Well, you can count me in on this plan."

Heracles's eyes widened in shock and the fork dropped out of his hand. "You- you're kidding, right?"

"No, I am not," Kiku assured them. "But just think about it. SERAPH, though I was a member for all of an hour, was a rather inspiring concept. With all of us banded together, with the determination to do good, we could be something great! We'd be like the Sailor Scouts, Mew Mews, Avengers; we'd be incredible!"

Despite Veneziano's own misgivings, he had to admit, Kiku sounded more alive than he had in weeks. There was some sort of light in his eyes, he was almost smiling.

And Heracles seemed to see this as well, as he gave a small smile as well. "Ah, I suppose I always wanted to be Ichigo when I grew up. I wouldn't mind being part of this group either, I suppose."

"Well, I wasn't planning on recruiting, but I'm sure at least Alfred would be happy to hear someone else thinks about this the same way," Sealand mused. "Um, what about you, Italy?"

Great, he was being put on the spot. How could he say no after it'd made Kiku so happy? But… how could he say yes when he'd sworn off fighting?

"Well, I don't want to fight anymore," he started. "I just want to protect whatever new Nation Scouts are born; I just want to protect Seborga!"

Sealand smiled. "I do too, trust me. And don't worry, I'm having Hutt and Kugelmugel keep an eye out for him and Wy. They will be safe, I swear."

"Wy?" Ludwig sounded a bit guilt-ridden, saying the name. "Ah… well, we owe her quite a lot. But as much as I would like to repay that debt, I have to turn down your offer."

"Why?", questioned Sealand. "I mean… you were really good at fighting, and we really would appreciate you on our side!"

Ludwig let out a sigh. "Look, I may have helped save us, but that doesn't change the fact that I have a lot of human life left to live. I am happy to have returned to it. I want to live it."

Those words made an odd pit grow in Veneziano's stomach. To reject them would mean continuing to live Feliciano's life, right? Did he want that? Did he want to just continue in a world where he didn't belong?

But he definitely didn't want to fight. Never again. And if he helped, even if he somehow got them to agree to put him in a passive position, he'd eventually have to fight.

"Um, as for me…" His eyes darted between Ludwig's and Kiku's frowns. "I don't know. I don't think I'm ready to really decide either way."

Sealand gave a smile and a nod. "That's fair. You don't have to decide right now. It's just an idea, we don't know how it'll work out quite yet. Heck, we don't even know how we'll get the funding! So, um, I'll talk to you later!"

As Sealand started to hover away, Ludwig called out "You should ask my brother, he seems like he'd be all over that!"

Looking back, Sealand gave a wink and a nod before vanishing into the cafeteria's rafters.

Veneziano let out a sigh. Maybe, hopefully, Feliciano's life would get easier. Or maybe he'd feel strong enough to fight again.

Either way, as Ludwig squeezed his hand and he realized he'd never let go of it, he felt some of the fear vanish from the pit of his stomach. Things would work out.

* * *

 ** _AN- **H** oly shit, I'm done. I'm free! Joltik is a free elf! No more of this!_**

 ** _Well, besides the revision, but that's not even a definite thing yet. Right now, I have other projects to work on. Foremost, another Magical Girl AU about the dating sim Asagao Academy. Maybe check out the story I have on Asagao on my profile, see if you like it, and maybe check out Asagao Academy: Magical Girl Academy over on AO3 is you like it! It's every bit as twisted as this hot mess of a story, but this time, with art demons, combat sparkles, yet another long-suffering seer, a tsundere big brother character to rival Romano, and a rather remarkable amount of despair._**

 ** _Speaking of despair, I'm also considering writing a superhero AU of Danganronpa, if anyone's interested in that yet. All I know so far is that I want Chihiro to be a super cool hacker hero and Toko's powers to be something similar to The Enchantress from DC stuff. Not even sure who the main character will be yet. Probably Hajime. Maybe Komaru. Probably not Naegi._**

 ** _But self-promotion aside, thank you all so much for bearing with me and reading this!_**

 ** _I would like to thank everyone who read and helped me with this story, but especially my story editor for the last third, Captain Tomate! Through this, she's become one of my dearest friends, and she's cowriting the Asagao Academy story with me, and I'm so grateful that we've gotten to be friends through this. And to all the dear friends I've made with this- Hinotorihime, Amethystfairy1, KnowledgeQueenABC, and everyone, thank you so much, and I'm so glad that you decided to read my story of all things._**

 ** _Thank you. Really._**

 ** _-Twilight Joltik_**


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